Beneath The Shadows
by Da'Burgh73
Summary: A new group of demon hunters arrive on the scene, but they're not all that they appear to be. How will Dante handle this situation, along with something else that's on his mind?
1. Chapter 1

**_Beneath The Shadows_**

**_Chapter 1_**

The howling late November wind bounced off of the walls of the large estate. The six sat round the table, going over their hands, examining each other. It was a good act, but the hybrid already knew that's what it was. He could have disposed of the five easily, but decided to have some fun with it. But after playing for about an hour, and not winning much, he was starting to get bored.

"So, Mr. Dante…" the head of the table started. "What say we take a look at that hand of yours?"

Dante smirked as he flipped his cards.

"Two pair; aces and jacks." He said confidently.

"Not too bad. But bad enough to lose… again."

He threw his cards down.

"Had you from the flop."

Flush.

"Shit." Dante said.

The head collected the chips from the center of the table, an unpleasant mix of cigarette and cigar smoke permeating in the air.

"That's just about been your luck tonight." Another laughed.

"Maybe I'm just bad at cards."

"Or maybe we're just very good. Maybe no matter the circumstances, you can't win. Have you ever felt that way, Mr. Dante?"

"Nope."

"Really? You've never been in a situation where you just feel that you're completely fucked?"

Dante moved his hand for Ebony.

"No, can't say that I have. I don't usually get fucked… 'less I have fifty bucks or so."

They laughed.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Tonight, it's on the house!"

Dante reacted before they could all change. He flipped the table up and kicked it into the demon that was at the head, sending him into the wall as he pulled out Ebony & Ivory and let off three rounds each to his left and right, dropping those two. A few more came at him as he leapt into the air, kicking off of one as he sent a wave of bullets down upon them while propelling through the air. Upon landing, he had his back turned to another group that came busting through the back door. But before they could even get close to him, they were ear-holed by another wave of bullets from above. Dante looked up with a smile.

"Right on time."

"Aren't I always?" Lady said as she made her way down the staircase. "Wouldn't have had to display my perfect timing if we could have just done a sweep and clean like I wanted to."

"Just wanted to get a little gambling in."

"Dante, you can't win bets worth a shit."

"Thanks for reminding me." He put his guns away. "These shit jobs are starting to get old. Morrison hasn't made me any real money in months."

The job was a sting on this group of gambling demons, essentially a quick extermination and armed robbery. The client had come to them with a combination to the safe in the large mansion where they resided. According to the client, who had worked there as one of their servants, this group cleaned out everyone curious and daring enough to try to defeat them, and if they didn't, they killed them and took their money anyways. Over time, he had found a way to sneak down to the cellar where the safe that held all of the "winnings". He spied on them, as they would deposit the money there, memorizing the combination after seeing it so many times. He took his leave of employment from the mansion without letting them know as to avoid being killed, knowing that would have been the result. After a few months of waiting, he got in touch with Morrison to acquire the services of Devil May Cry.

"Then why don't we just crack this safe ourselves and take our 'fair' share?"

"If I had the combination, I would. Speaking of which, call him and tell them to get rolling."

"Have something to do?"

"No, I just wanna' get the hell out of here. Been sitting at that table for more than an hour."

"I thought you wanted to gamble."

"I didn't think it would last that long."

"So, you're not busy later?"

"No."

"Good, cause' I have something to do for you."

"Ooo, I like the sound of that." He put on his evil grin.

"Keep dreaming, Dante. It's just a small favor."

"Now why would I do you any favors?"

"Because if you do I'll forgive whatever's left of your debt and we can split this payday 50/50."

"Hmm, that is a good reason." It was, after all, another five grand. "What do you need?"

"I need you to come by my apartment around 10:30. I think there's been a group of demons hanging around the place. I can hear random noises below, but when I look out, nothing's there. I wanna' try to catch these bastards, but I need your help."

"Alright. As boring as this'll be, I'll come and keep an eye out."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now, call Morrison."

She nodded, and got out her cell phone to let Morrison and the client know to move out.

Morrison and the client got to the mansion about twenty minutes later.

"Another blood bath as always." Morrison said.

"The sign of a job well done." Dante boasted. "So, slim, this combination?" He said to the client.

"Come on, follow me downstairs." He replied.

The three followed him to the basement and to the large steel safe door in the far wall.

"I hope they haven't changed it."

He began dialing the combination into the safe lock. One try and the lock opened.

"Oh, how I love it when things just go right." Lady said.

"Especially when 90% of the time they don't." Dante scoffed. "Alright, let's start counting."

Nearly an hour went by before the four had come to a mutual agreement on how much money there was.

"OK, everyone," An irritated Lady started. "Your totals, my total, add them together. I know that it's something as hard as basic math, but let's try to get through this. I have nineteen grand here."

"I got twenty-six." Dante said.

"Thirty-four." Morrison said.

"Twenty-two." The client said.

"Dante, think you can add that up?" Lady slyly asked.

"Hundred-one grand." Dante proclaimed confidently.

"Good job, Dante." Morrison said. "Now you can finally move on to pre-algebra."

Lady chuckled.

"Good suggestion, dick." Dante snapped. "OK, you, take your fifty and skedaddle." He said to the client.

"Thanks guys," he said. "I'll let anyone I know with a demon problem know about you."

"Thanks." Dante said.

The client left and the three worked out the remaining money.

"Your ten, agent with the 20% fee." Dante tossed Morrison his cut.

"Hey, you want jobs or you wanna' go broke?"

"I'm gonna' go broke anyways with you leeching off of the few jobs I do get."

"Quit your bitching. I'll let you know as soon as I get word of anything else."

"Great. Get a hold of me whenever."

"Will do. Take it easy, Lady."

She nodded.

"Well, twenty a pop isn't bad." Dante said.

"Only if you do me that favor later."

"I will."

"Good. And there's actually a grand leftover."

"Maybe we can run up the old tab later?"

"Hmm… I'll think about it."

* * *

Dante stood outside Lady's apartment in the sudden rain that came in a blanketing sheet from out of nowhere. The unpredictability of east coast weather did have a constant in late fall and winter; bitter cold. Rain and snow made it worse, but this night; it wasn't quite cold enough to snow, or even sleet.

Dante didn't mind whatever the weather was, though he was getting bored rather quickly. He had been waiting for a half an hour and had seen all of two cars go by. He was half tempted to go into Lady's apartment and wake her up so he could try to make a move on her.

Then again, who wants to get shot?

A few more minutes went by before he thought about taking off. He'd been there as long as Lady wanted him to be, and he hadn't seen anything.

Just as he turned to get in his car, a van pulled up through the back alley. He moved behind the wall, readying his hands on his pistols.

The van stopped, as two got on from the front and six more from the back.

Dante realized that they were humans, and took his hands away from his guns.

The two instantly noticed his car as a few others doubled back around, the others now coming towards Dante. He went around to the other side to cut the three off. As one went around, Dante caught him and slammed him into the wall, kicking his knee in as he bounced off. The other who came around received a vicious uppercut that sent him airborne, but the third was able to fire off some shots with his Uzi before Dante whipped a nearby tire iron at his face. The others came rushing at him, and he battled them off with ease using his bare hands.

Despite the tremendous blows he gave each initially, they struggled back up. Dante went for another series of critical blows before feeling a sharp prick in the back of his neck. He instinctively thrust his elbow back, knocking the one who had stabbed him out. He pulled a syringe out of his neck, and began feeling woozy and light-headed. He looked back to the others and was greeted with the butt of a shotgun, finishing the job the syringe had started.

Lady had awaken from the sounds of gunfire and commotion, and looked out of her window to see Dante being tossed into the back of a van.

"What the hell?"

She raced outside as fast as she could, but not before the van had taken off.

She looked on the ground to see Ebony, Ivory and Rebellion.

She knew they weren't demons, but why take Dante? Why crowd around her apartment for weeks if that's all they were planning? And how the hell did they subdue him?

"...Who the fuck are these guys?"

**Well, been a minute. Done with school for this semester, passed all my classes, and actually with pretty decent grades this time. :) I intend on giving this story a lot of focus now that I'm done, and I should have the update for you quickly.**

**"Phone's ringin', Dude."**

**PEACE!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Beneath The Shadows_**

**_Chapter 2_**

"Wake up, boy."

Dante slowly came out of his haze. Though everything was very blurred at first, and despite the fact that half of his consciousness had yet to recover, he was able to make out his surroundings. He was in a gray, cement floored room with one white light hanging from the ceiling. There was one man in front of him with a few others scattered across the room, all holding powerful sub-machine guns or assault rifles. He was handcuffed to the back of a chair that was heavily weighted to the ground.

"Heh…" He started. "Whatever that shit was that you used to knock me out, let me know where I can get some."

The man in front of him held up a syringe filled with a blue liquid.

"The newest and most effective sedative on the planet. Specifically made to knock out demons."

Dante scoffed.

"Why knock them out when you can kill them?"

"Oh contraire, Dante…" He backed away. "That's exactly why you've been brought here today."

"I don't think I follow, Mr. … who the hell are you again?"

He smiled.

"You can call me Amethyst."

"That's cute." Dante laughed. "Shouldn't you be dressed in pretty purple jewelry, though?"

Amethyst laughed, and quickly withdrew his revolver and planted one right between Dante's eyes.

After a long, sharp inhale, Dante brought his head back up with a deafening, "WOO-HOO!"

Amethyst laughed.

"44 Magnum! A little more sting than your average pistol." Dante said with an excited smile.

"Yeah, I know all about you, half-breed. We've been tracking you for a while. I knew that little Lady friend of yours would tell you about us snooping around her apartment building. She served as a great bait to catch you."

Dante laughed.

"Obviously it would have been too hard for you pussies to come to my shop and try to take me face to face."

"Best to take down a demon with smoke and mirrors. Especially one of your caliber."

Dante wasn't surprised about how much Amethyst knew about him. His reputation did precede him very well, after all.

"Best demon hunter in the land."

"So they say."

"I have to say, I'm impressed. I do admire your work greatly. But see, the only problem is, your profession is fucking with my profession."

"Ah, you're a trapper." Dante smiled. "I haven't seen one of you in years. Probably because all of you wind up dead."

"Not all of us."

Amethyst snapped his fingers, and his soldiers opened a large steel door, revealing a chained demon, hardly moving.

"Pft, I've seen bigger." Dante said.

"And that's where you come in. See, normally, when a hunter's affecting our profits as much as you are, we find that hunter and shoot his ass into oblivion. But something tells me that doesn't scare you."

"Well, that something's right. And sorry to disappoint you, but that wasn't the first time I've been shot in the head."

Amethyst walked back towards Dante.

"Dante, you're a business man, I'm a business man, so let's talk business."

"OK, let's talk business."

"I'm willing to forgive your killings that caused me losses and pay you a very hefty salary… if you join me and my men. We can score way more profit with more powerful demons, and you're the perfect one to help us get them."

"Thanks, Amy," Dante stared at him. "But I don't trap and sell demons. I blow their heads off."

"Think about it for a second, though. People will pay millions of dollars for live demons."

"Who, the fucking zoo?" Dante laughed.

"Certain people. You'll find out if you join us."

"Well, after hearing your considerably strong argument, my answer is still, go fuck yourself."

"You're as stubborn as you are stupid. I know for a fact that your quality of life isn't exactly plush."

"Never has been."

"I can change that. Join us, and you can go from constant debt, cheap wine and pizza and your broken down old shop... to martinis, filet Mignon and beautiful women on a Caribbean island."

"Well, as great as that sounds, I hate sand, so I'm still gonna' have to decline."

"Hmm…" Amethyst's patience had worn out. "Well, we've seen how you can handle one bullet…" His men raised their guns. "Let's see how you handle a non-stop wave."

Dante smiled.

"Do your worst, Amy."

Before his men could fire, a large explosion blew the entire far wall to pieces. Dante had to keep from laughing when Lady came bursting through the smoke, guns blazing and causing everyone in the room to start firing at random. Dante broke free of his handcuffs and bolted up as Lady tossed him his pistols. With their combined firepower, they forced Amethyst and his men to scatter. Without missing a bet, they turned to the demon and blew it to smithereens.

"Again, your timing is the shit dreams are made of."

"Again, thanks. Good thing you left your keys in your car." Said Lady, whose bike happened to be out of commission. "But why the hell did you wait 'til I got here to bust your cuffs?"

"Because I was fucking with them."

"Why?"

"You see, Lady, right there. That's why you're always in a pissed off mood."

She firmly put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"You never take time to enjoy your work. Always blowing shit up, shooting things at first sight."

"Excuse me, but I take pride in being swift with my work."

"Well I take pride in enjoying myself as much as possible."

"Oh, you don't need to assure anyone of that."

"Man, you two can't be together without arguing."

They looked to see Trish, smiling behind a pair of sunglasses.

"Fancy seeing you here," Dante said. "Haven't heard from you in a few weeks."

"Haven't had any work. I'm dropping by anything I see that looks like action. Saw the smoke."

"No jobs for you either, eh?"

"None. Business sucks."

"You're gonna' shit when you hear the reason."

"Trappers?" Lady asked.

"Yeah."

"Hmm... Usually they don't last long enough to cause us any loss in jobs."

"These guys aren't your average trappers, though." Dante started.

"Oh?"

"For starters, their guns aren't exactly nines and AKs. These were big-ass military issued guns, along with a vest of standard S.W.A.T. body armor for each guy. Also, the one who's in charge, Amethyst or whatever his name is, showed me this syringe full of the shit that they stuck me with. Said it was supposed to be the most powerful sedative on the planet."

"Where the hell did they get this stuff?" Lady asked.

"And how could they afford it?" Trish added.

"Well, that's the thing..." Dante looked around.

"No money, drugs, other guns, anything. And they sure as hell weren't too hesitant to book and leave that demon when you came in."

"Well it's not exactly the biggest one I've ever seen." Lady said.

Dante laughed. "That's what I said."

"This sounds kinda' deep." Trish said. "I'll ask around the other hunters in the city, see what they know about this."

"Good, luck, there's barely any of us left." Lady said.

"She's right. Call Morrison while you're at it. He might know who to talk to."

"Will do. I'll call you in a few days. You'd better get outta' here before the cops show up. They're waiting for you to slip up, Dante."

"As if I could fucking forget. That prick Harrison reminds me every chance he gets."

"Alright. Take it easy, guys." Trish disappeared back into the night.

"I think we'd better take her advice and split." Lady said.

"Agreed. What time is it?"

"Just passed one. Guess that sedative isn't powerful enough for you."

"Couple hours isn't bad." He laughed. "You sill got that grand?"

"Yeah."

"Eddy's? I could _really_ use a drink or two."

"... Ah, fuck it."

* * *

"You know..." Dante slurred. "I really appreciate what you did for me back there."

"Oh, shut up." Lady shoved him, and nearly fell off her bar stool. "Like you needed my help."

"It's... it's not that. It's just nice to know that there's at least one person who has my back."

"No problem, ya' big dumb douche... that's what friends are for."

Eddy the bartender had to chuckle at the drunken ramblings of the two partners. Very common was it they would come to the home-based bar, Cousin Eddy's, out in the middle of east cabumfuck. Beer, liquor, whatever your preference was, for cheap. Whiskey and vodka were always on the menu for Dante and Lady. Of course, it would always start off with Lady making it a contest and trying to drink Dante under the table, which she never succeeded at. It then lead into them admitting to each other how found of one another they really were, the amount of what they admitted depending on how much they drank.

"Such a cute drunk couple." Eddy was cut off by the sounds of crashing trashcans outside. "Well, Jose's here."

The whole bar started laughing. The man staggered into the bar as a pleasant flow of Stevie Ray Vaughn came from the jukebox.

"Who the fuck taught you how to drive?" Eddy laughed.

"My driving instructor." Jose snapped.

"That dude must've done some serious drugs."

"Fuck you."

"Quit running into my trash cans, dip-shit."

"Fine, just give me a damn beer."

"I'm calling your tab."

"Oh, you cum guzzling asshole." He pulled out his wallet and threw a fifty at Eddy.

"Thanks. Now take your beer and drink away your remaining two brain cells." He slid him his can.

"I will."

"Hey Eddy!" Lady barked. "Two more shots of Jim Beam for us."

"Lady... I think we've had enough." Dante said.

"Ohh, too much for you to handle?"

"... Two more shots, Eddy."

He poured them their shots.

"Cheers."

Both downed them, only Lady's did her in. She fell off of her stool into Dante's arms.

"Whoa!" She yelled. "THAT one got a hold of me."

She passed out right after.

"Damn... I win again." Dante laughed.

"You should get her home. I'm about to close it up anyways."

"Great. Another night of luggin' her ass up to her bed."

"You ever gonna' join her one of these nights?"

"We're partners, Eddy."

"Yeah, but the truth comes out when you're drunk. And everyone in here can see the truth."

"OK, Dr. Phil. Good night."

"Be safe, Dante."

Dante picked Lady up and carried her to the car.

Once back at her apartment, he carried her up the stairs, unlocked her door, took her in, and lazily tossed her onto her bed.

"Always a good time, Lady." He slurred again before staggering back down the stairs and into his car.

"What a fucking day."

**Good start for the first chapter, hopefully this chapter nets some more feedback. The next one won't be too far off. I have this shit pretty well outlined, so there won't be much if any delays. I really only have 'til late January to finish this, and it's looking to be pretty long, so the updates won't be spaced out as much.**

**"The China-man is not the issue here, Dude!"**

**PEACE!**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Beneath The Shadows_**

**_Chapter 3_**

Sipping a glass of his cheap red wine at his desk, along with reading one of his favorite magazines, Dante was enjoying the peace and tranquility of a quiet day. The last of autumns leaves tumbled through the streets in the brisk November wind, clicking off of the doors of Devil May Cry every so often. He pondered deeply about the situation at hand. These guys knew what the hell they were doing for sure. No trappers had the type of weaponry and resources that they had. And despite the lack of size the demon had, it was the first one he'd ever seen fully subdued by trappers. And that they would leave it there without much care, as if they had bigger fish to fry. There were definitely more than a few ins and outs in this situation.

As the sound of his doors opening split the peaceful silence and his train of thought, Dante looked up to see Morrison walk in.

"Of course you'd show up, I was actually enjoying myself for once."

"Nice to see you too, shit head."

"You better have something good for me."

"I talked around some of the hunters in town."

"And?"

"They told me that someone has been taking out the majority of the hunters that are left."

"Well it sure as hell isn't the demons. They're turning into pussies."

"I know. I'm thinking it might be this group that captured you."

"Probably. How the hell are they getting away with it?"

"Good question. I know the cops don't favor of you guys. They probably just write each one off as death by demons."

"Wouldn't want them to have to do any actual police work." Dante scoffed. "Who'd you talk to?"

"Nasty Ricky's crew and Kifer"

"How the hell has Kifer not gotten killed by something yet? I swear he's half-retarded."

"Only half?" Morrison laughed and lit up a cigarette. "I haven't gotten much word on how these fucks are getting money. It has to be coming from a higher power, probably who they're selling them to."

"The FBI? They've been wanting to study on demons for years."

"I don't think so."

"Well, you know how frowned upon it is by the government for them to go after any. Maybe they're using these guys. It would explain their equipment, too."

Morrison shook his head.

"There's too many whistle-blowers in the FBI. That scandal would get uncovered in less than a week. I don't think demons are any of their damn business, anyways. They're the Federal Bureau of Investigation, not demon studies."

Morrison had never been fond of any government agency.

"Who then?"

"I don't know. I'll see what else I can dig up."

"Do that. See if you can't get me a job while you're at it."

"Will do."

He got up to leave.

"Don't over-exert yourself today."

"I won't." Dante reassured.

He propped his feet up on the desk and rested the back of his head on his hands as he looked up to the ceiling and off into space. Of all the places his mind could've wondered, he started to think about Lady. He was happy to have spent the night at the bar with her after the long and crazy day that had ensued. He wasn't sure, but he felt like she actually did enjoy herself when she spent time with him like that. He knew he did.

Amidst all the killing day in and day out, moments like that were a nice reprieve for both of them, and they secretly were glad to share them with one another.

Nearly lost in his cloud of thought, he looked up to see Lady walk in with a large duffel bag.

"Hey," He began. "I thought my debt was paid off."

"It is."

"Then what are you doing here?"

She let out a sigh.

"Look… the landlord at my apartment complex got pissed about the incident the other night. He told me that I was attracting and causing too much commotion and destruction… so… he evicted me."

He looked up from his magazine.

"Dante, I'm broke. That last payday went to fixing my bike and a pile of overdue bills. I…"

She sighed again.

"I don't have anywhere to go."

Dante knew what Lady was doing took a lot of pride swallowing. He knew that she never wanted to consider him someone she needed to depend on, and that this had to be killing her to come to him in this kind of need. The last thing he was going to do was make it difficult for her.

"You know you can stay here."

"I know, Dante, but it's not your responsibility."

As bad as she was making herself feel about this, Dante took it upon himself to reassure her.

"Lady, I have plenty of space here. It's not a big deal at all. Besides, I could use the company. It's been fucking boring here by myself."

She smiled. She knew that Dante enjoyed his solitude, and it was big of him to pretend otherwise.

The only thing was, he wasn't pretending. Though being on his own had its perks, and as much as he enjoyed it at first, he was over it. He hadn't quite become lonely, but companionship seemed like a better idea with each passing day. Not just companionship, but intimacy as well.

For a time, he thought Trish could be the one, but she was too much of a mom to him. Not just her very similar looks to his mother, but her constant nagging and advice that he didn't care to hear too much. Couple in that Dante was never too keen on the concepts of Freud.

Lady was something different. He had been attracted to her since first seeing her in the Temin Ni Gru as a young woman, and she had only gotten more attractive over the past few years. Though the first year of their acquaintance consisted of the bickering at each other near-constantly, along with debt issues, the past few years had been different.

Dante had seen Lady go from an angry girl out for revenge in a tower of demons to a beautiful, intelligent, and vicious young woman who was so deadly and efficient with her work, and who had unshakable confidence.

How she had completely filled out was what made him stair at her like an idiot, though. She had become a very shapely woman. She was a perfect blend of slender and bodacious traits, a truly voluptuous figure. And how her face had matured was what really turned him on. Her facial structure and smooth skin were just as attractive as the rest of her body. Her smile, with those ruby red lips, would melt most other men. And those eyes...

But what attracted him to her the most was the fact that she was a human. She showed the toughness and cold-heartedness of a devil, but all in a human. Curiosity often lured him to wonder about her humanity, and her deepest feelings.

This was his opportunity.

"I owe you, then."

"Bullshit. You don't owe me anything. I'm doing this as a friend."

She smiled.

"Thanks, Dante."

"Anytime."

"Hope you like pizza."

"Ugh, I'm not crazy about it, but I could eat a horse right now. Get it with the works, though. I'm talkin' extra large, deep dish, pepperoni, sausage, extra cheese, salami, peppers,"

"Yeah, you're not crazy about it at all." Dante thought to himself.

He chuckled as she continued into her massive mountain of toppings. Not four hours into living with her, and he was already starting to see that "other side" of Lady. He guessed it to be her separate personality, one away from her work of hunting demons. A calmer, more agreeable Lady, yet still demanding.

As far as nicer went...

"And would you turn the fucking heat up? It's freezing in here!"

Not so much.

"You gonna' toss in on the heating bill?"

"Maybe if we can get a damn job."

"Morrison's working on it."

"Doubt that."

"Anything else you want besides the giant Italian pot pie that we're calling a pizza?"

Lady paused.

"Bread sticks."

"Bread sticks."

"And fried dough."

"Damn, tryin' to give us both heart attacks?"

"I haven't eaten all day."

"Alright."

He kicked the desk, sending the phone into his left hand as his right quickly dialed the memorized number of the pizzeria.

He preceded to give the man his order as Lady situated the couch closer to the corner to the room where heat from the air vent flowed. She was happy with the convenience of Dante investing in a foldout couch.

"Look at you, redecorating my office. Why don't you move my pool table and my jukebox while you're at it?"

"Shut up." She snapped as she set Kalinna-Ann on the couch, along with her guns.

Ten minutes went by while an impatient Lady waited.

"Where the hell is this guy?"

"They don't have these things pre-made, ya' know."

"Thank you, Dante. I really didn't know that. That wasn't me just venting at all."

"Oh, I look forward to more of that."

The knocks on the door interrupted any comeback by Lady. She turned sharply as Dante walked to the door.

He opened the door to retrieve his triple-stack of boxes.

"Thanks. Put it on my tab."

"But, man, you owe us like-"

Dante slammed the door.

"That's nice." Lady huffed.

"You have any money on you?"

"No."

"Then shut up and eat your damn pizza." He slammed them on the desk.

Lady scowled at Dante as she got up to retrieve her meal.

Dante rolled his eyes at another series of knocks.

"Is this guy fucking serious?"

He stormed over to the door and flung it open.

"Look, idiot, I don't have-"

He didn't see anything.

"Ugh, don't tell me you're still eating nothing but pizza."

He looked down to see where that little but loud voice was coming from.

"You little shit."

He embraced Patty as she threw her arms around his waist.

"And no better at greeting a lady?"

"Patty!" Lady excitedly jumped off the desk and ran to her.

"Good to be home to see you guys for the holidays."

Dante smiled.

"When'd you get back?"

She had been on vacation in England for months now.

"Just a few days ago. My mom and I are on the way to see some of our family. I just wanted to drop in and see you guys."

"Well, don't be a stranger." Lady said.

"Yeah, she's my roommate now, so she'll _always_ be here." Dante smirked.

"I hate you!" She punched him in the shoulder.

"So violent."

Patty chuckled. "Some things never change. I'll see you guys later!" She ran back to the car.

"I can't believe you!"

"Oh, what? Like she wouldn't have found out eventually anyways?"

"Let's just fucking eat."

"No arguments here."

**OK, barreled this shit quick before the last day of work for this week. Then, relaxation for a few days. Oh yes. Can't fucking wait.**

**"Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man."**

**PEACE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Beneath The Shadows_**

**_Chapter 4_**

Sunlight spilled into Restaurant Fredi as Dante finished off his strawberry sundae. An anxious Patty sat across from him as he ignored her babbling, the usual nagging that sounded more and more like Lady and Trish every time.

"... So seriously, stop leaving beer cans all over your office."

He decided to humor her with a smart-ass response.

"It's my office."

"It's disgusting!"

He huffed.

"Then come over and clean it. Maybe I'll give you a couple bucks."

"No thanks. Besides, you owe me enough money anyways."

"What? No way, you got your card winnings in ice cream like you wanted."

"That was for the cards, but I'm talking about the money you owe me for the football game."

"That doesn't count. I was drunk."

"That makes no difference!"

Dante tried as best he could to finish his sundae, knowing full well that Patty didn't even care about the money, or anything else she had been talking about for that matter. He knew that her chitchatting was eventually going to lead to her asking him, but he hoped that he'd be done and gone before she could.

"So, anyways..." She smirked.

"Fuck." He thought to himself.

"You and Lady living together now, huh?" She leaned forward on the table, getting irritably closer to his face.

"She just needs a place to stay."

"Yeah, but she picked you."

"She has nobody else."

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?"

"Ugh, you are so dense!"

"Patty, Lady would blow her brains out before she ever even entertained a thought of being with me." He laughed.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I saved her from falling hundreds of feet to her death, she shot me in the head. Then there was that time she threw a live grenade at me for complimenting her on how good she looked."

"What happened with the grenade?"

"I think it blew up someone's Mazda. Look, the point is that Lady gets the impulse to kill me every time I stare at her for too long, so why the hell-"

"So you _do_ stare at her?"

"No! I just... don't you ever go to school?"

"...It's Sunday."

"It is?"

Dante was visibly flustered. That last thing he needed was for Patty to go blurting to Lady that he had a crush on her. Over the years, he had somehow managed to keep her from knowing it.

"You can lie to me all you want, but she's living with you now, and she's eventually going to find out."

"No she won't, because there's nothing to find out."

"Whatever you say, Dante. Oh, and since she's living with you now, you might wanna' think about shaving whatever that is off of your face. You're gonna' look like Santa in a week."

He rubbed his face.

"I forget to shave for two days and I have to deal with jokes."

He got up and tossed his money on the table. "Take it easy, kid." He patted her on the head as he walked out.

Dante breathed in the cool air before entering his car, wondering about what Patty said. Over the past couple of years, he had noticed that Lady had not quite grown fonder of him, but had gotten used to him. He'd always figured though that she couldn't be fond of him because she still couldn't accept what he was. It wasn't something that bothered him; rather he had to laugh about it. Her hate for demons overpowered any possible love for humans, and it held true in his situation being a hybrid.

Then again, she only ever really saw his demonic side; constantly slaughtering demons with perfect precision, displaying nauseating arrogance at all possible times, glutton.

He'd matured over the years though, and he noticed that she had been coming around more. Not much more, but more nonetheless.

Both could confirm that they'd caught each other eyeing one another, but he never pushed it past the occasional flirt, knowing her temper. Perhaps, though, subconsciously he was just trying not to blow it.

Despite his badass persona, Dante was never lying when he said that he had rotten luck with women. The few times he had tried a relationship hadn't worked out so well. Not necessarily because of him, rather it was the personalities of the women he dated. He never really felt a connection with any of them. He didn't really know why. Maybe it was because he was half demon, or maybe it was because he didn't want to get close to anyone after what had happened to his mother.

And as far as getting action went, he couldn't say he'd had anything better than a drunken one-night stand with a chick from the bar. No matter how loud he had made each of those girls scream, he still wasn't' that satisfied. He had had sex, but he had never made love.

So he did in fact yearn for intimacy and affection with a woman, but his failure to obtain it wasn't because of his blood or his past. It was because he was waiting for the right girl.

And ever since meeting her, Dante thought that maybe Lady was. Everything about her fascinated him. Her face, her eyes, her body, her personality, her spirit, everything. He hadn't even thought about another girl since meeting her. He had waited and waited, and though things had gotten better between the two, he still wasn't confident enough to make any real move on her, or even ask her out on a date, for fear that she either laugh in his face or never see him again.

So as much as he thought that his demonic side had become him completely, these human feelings were saying otherwise. Maybe if Lady knew, maybe if she saw these human feelings, she could accept him.

But Dante had more pressing things on his mind as he walked down the sunny yet still bitter cold street. He was going to Nasty Ricky's place, otherwise known as "The Shit Shack", to see what he personally knew.

Nasty Ricky was a former Marine Recondo who had served in the Gulf War. Aside from Lady, he was the most skilled human at hunting demons Dante had ever seen. Outstanding shot, decorated in martial arts, and like Dante and Lady, absolutely fearless.

Surprising as it was, the bounty hunters in the city got along quite well with each other. They had an agreement that certain groups would control and profit from certain areas of the city. Dante, Lady and Trish handled the center of the city, or the downtown area, Nasty Ricky and his crew controlled the north, and Kifer and the group he belonged to controlled the south. The west was rather quiet in terms of demonic activity, and the cops controlled the east.

There was plenty to go around for, but this new group of trappers was starting to fuck things up for all of them. It was time for that to be discussed.

And dealt with.

Dante knocked on the door of the Shit Shack, a massive garage that really just served as a one-giant-room hangout for Nasty Ricky and his crew. The heavy smell of blunt smoke hit him when the door opened, one of Ricky's men greeting him.

"Nasty Ricky in?"

The man nodded and opened the door for Dante. It was always the same at the Shit Shack. Guns being worked on, football on the TV, music playing, weed being rolled up and smoked. Nasty Ricky always said, "You preform your best when you're relaxed." And there was no better "chill spot" than the Shit Shack.

Dante approached the table where Ricky was sitting, deeply involved in a card game.

"All that practice and you still suck." Dante said.

Ricky looked up. "Shit head!"

He got up and shook Dante's hand. "How you doin'?"

"Good. How've you been?"

"Oh, you know, shootin' shit, gettin' paid. You wanna' drink?"

"No, thanks. I came to talk about this Amethyst character."

"Ah, those fucking trappers giving you problems too, huh?"

"Not much, but I do see them becoming a pain in the ass if we don't deal with them. Money's tight as it is, I'm not having these bastards take what little work there's left in the city."

"I hear ya'. They've already captured some around here. We did go a bit pyrotechnical on some of their cars a few days ago, though." He smiled.

"I think I'm gonna' send a little clearer of a message to them."

"Well, you picked the right day. I got a call from Kifer a few hours ago. He said that there was supposed to be a little get-together of demons in his hood."

"Why tell you?"

"He said those trappers were hangin' around all morning. I think he wants us to go down and take out all of these demons before they can bag any. Show these pricks who runs this town."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I still hate that asshole."

Ricky laughed. "Why?"

"Because he rambles the most insane and incoherent bullshit you'll ever hear."

"That's because he's spent the last twenty years of his life blowing coke and listening to Frank Zappa. You want a recipe for some fucked up thoughts, there ya' go."

"What time is this supposed to go down?"

"Not a clue. Demons don't follow set schedules."

"You goin' down there?"

"In a bit. We're gonna' make some final preparations first."

"I'm headin' down now."

"Alright. Let him know we'll be down eventually."

Dante nodded and headed for the door.

"Oh, and shave that stupid beard. Reindeer havin'-ass mother fucker, all dressed in red."

"I will, but only if you lose some weight, fat ass."

"Hey, Nasty," One of his men started. "Get your lazy ass over here and look at this."

"Hey, Brent, choke on a cock and die."

Dante laughed and closed the door. A few clouds were beginning to gather as he began his drive back down to the central part of town.

On the way down, he was noticing that the further south he went, the fewer amount of people in the streets there was.

"Guess Kifer was right." He thought to himself.

Kifer was sitting on the tailgate of his pickup truck, his legs dangling next to the bumper sticker that read, "_Reality Is For People Who Can't Handle Drugs._" He twitched and fidgeted repeatedly, his 10-Guage shotguns sitting in his lap as he waited for Nasty Ricky, the cloud accumulation now leaving a white sky above. He looked up when he heard tires going over travel, but saw Dante rolling up instead of Ricky. He hopped off the truck as Dante parked and got out.

"Dante?" He said, surprised. "Damn, it's been a minute. What are you doin' down my neck of the woods?" He fidgeted a few more times.

"Well, I'd like to say I'm here to commit you to a methadone clinic, but Ricky told me about what was happening."

"Yeah, that's who I'm waitin' for."

"The trappers around?"

"They were, but they peaced when I came out."

"They must have smelled you."

Kifer lifted up his arm and took a whiff.

"... Yeah, probably."

Dante rolled his eyes.

"They take any of your business yet?"

"No, and if they do, I'll be madder than a porcupine in a room full of balloons."

"... What?"

"...Huh? Oh, fuck, I don't know, too much coffee I guess."

"Yeah, coffee." He got his weapons out of the car. "Where the hell are these fucks?"

Just then, a screaming demon descended from a nearby roof. Kifer, always on edge, shot around and blew the demons head off before it even landed.

"Yeah, where's all that yellin' now, bitch?" He fired a few more shots into the downed demon.

Dante looked down the street to see a decent sized group of demons closing in.

"_Here_ we go." He smiled.

"Nasty Ricky." Kifer motioned.

Dante looked back to see Ricky and his crew roll up in their van.

"Alright, who's ready to fuck shit up?" He said as he stepped out.

"You're right on time."

The seven men stood side-by-side, weapons in hand, as the rolling mass of demons got closer. The group was approaching with serious speed until a rocket seemingly from out of nowhere eradicated the front few. Dante looked backed to see Lady holding a smoking Kalinna-Ann.

"Well, don't you just show up in the damndest places." He smirked.

"You didn't think I was gonna' let you have all the fun, did you?"

"Never crossed my mind."

"Kifer, are you kidding me with that gun?" Ricky said.

"W-what?"

"You plan on standing next to every one you kill? Give him a gun."

One of his men tossed him an Uzi.

"This eerily feels like a bad idea." Dante said.

Kifer responded with a middle finger.

"Five seconds." Lady said.

They turned to see that the demons were very close, and they readied their guns.

"Make sure the safety's off, Kifer." Dante said.

"Fist yourself, Dante." Kifer gleefully responded.

Dante smiled, and fired the first shots of a bullet spray towards the demons. A few more went down before they separated and began to maneuver around. Dante and Lady stuck with the ones they were targeting perfectly, dropping them all over the street as they moved and maneuvered around themselves. Kifer moved in crazy gyrations, still only firing when one got close to him. Ricky and his men stood stoic, firing upon demons with their backs to each other.

The ease of this task surprised none of them, as they had all essentially become their profession.

One demon had managed to take down one of Ricky's men, and as Lady had tried to save him from it, her shots came a bit too late, and it distracted her from the demon she was about to kill. That demon blindsided her before she could turn back around, knocking her down and landing a deep gash in her leg as it's razor-edged limbs swung mindlessly. The demon rose up to pierce Lady completely, but on the down, Dante ran in front of her, letting the demon's strike go through his stomach. Although it did hurt him slightly, he smiled, and pulled Rebellion from his back and stuck it through the demons heart. He kicked it off of him and into a wall, and turned to Lady to help her up.

The others had just finished up the remaining demons.

"YEAH!" Ricky barked as he stood over the corpse a massive demon that he had just completely filled with led. "Anyone else have a..." He caught his breath. "... Fucking problem?"

They looked over the massive pile of demon corpses they had created in a ridiculously short amount of time.

"Haha! What fucking demons?" Kifer yelled.

"What the hell is that?" One of Ricky's men asked.

They looked over to see Amethyst directing his men, who were lugging a rather large demon that was somehow still alive up a ramp to a tractor trailer that his men had just drove up in.

"You've gotta' be shitting me." Kifer said.

"Fucking pussies." Ricky said.

"I don't think so." Dante said. He wasn't about to let that happen.

He always followed a simple rule for wounded demons.

Two shots; one to kill it, one to kill it twice.

He held Ebony straight while holding Ivory sideways, lining them up to create one sight for both guns. He moved the sight to the wounded demon, and as soon as the one on its left side moved out of the way just enough, Dante moved the sight to its head, and fired two perfectly placed shots right into the demons temple. It seized up, and collapsed into death.

Amethyst, who had just opened the doors of the trailer, looked to where the shots had come from, and upon seeing Dante, shot him a death stare.

"You mother fucker!"

Dante replied only with a wink and a wicked smile.

As much as she hated to admit it, Lady would always get turned on when Dante would execute a kill with that precision. His cockiness and arrogance about it did even more. Funny, being that it usually irritated the hell out of her.

Amethyst and his group split, Dante and the others standing there in victory, their point now clear.

"They are fucking pissed." Ricky laughed.

"Fuck 'em. Maybe this'll make it clear that hunters run this city, not trappers." Dante said.

"No doubt, but I think we'll be seeing them again. Why don't you just kill 'em?" Kifer asked.

"I can't kill humans. That's why I never use weapons against them."

"Why? What happens if you kill one?"

"It costs me my soul."

"Hmm, good reason not to kill anyone."

"How's your leg?" Dante asked Lady.

"It's fine."

He knew she was lying, but didn't expect her to let on that she was in any kind of pain. Too tough for that.

"Not to be a party pooper, but I think we'd better bounce. The pope-a-dope's gonna' be here any minute." Ricky said.

"Fuck the cops. All they know how to do is write people citations for going ten over the speed limit." Kifer said.

"I know, but they're just looking for a reason."

"I agree, we should get the hell out of here." Lady said.

Dante helped Lady into the car as Ricky and his crew took off in their van, and Kifer went back in his apartment.

* * *

Dante and Lady trampled through the mess of beer cans that Patty had been complaining about. It had been a week since Lady moved in, and they hadn't done the best job in maintaining the place.

"Let me take a look at your leg." Dante said.

Lady gave no argument. The wound was bugging the hell out of her. She opened the bed of the foldout couch and plopped herself down on it. Dante came over from retrieving a bottle from his desk.

"Here."

She grabbed the fifth of Jim Beam and took a mighty gulp. He smiled as he she handed it back to him.

She took off her dirty blouse and rolled over, her skirt slipping up slightly, which immediately caught Dante's eye. This would always happen to him with Lady. It would take one good look at her to get him going.

Looking over her body now, he noticed the yearly change, and nearly started drooling. The same thing happened to Lady every winter. She would get so thick, but only in all the right places; her thighs, her ass, her breasts, which would explain the mountainous pizza and everything else she had eaten in the past week. She was still tone, though, being that she worked out regularly. He at times found it hard to not grab her by the shoulders, throw her up against the wall, and ravish her like an animal.

He soaked a rag in the whiskey and rubbed it across her gash. Her leg jerked as she took a sharp breath through her clenched teeth. He patted the wound, pressing down lightly, causing another sharp breath.

"You alright?"

"Yeah."

He continued to rub and push the rag on the wound, Lady getting more used to it with each stroke. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her thigh as he rubbed up towards it. His hand seemed to grow a mind of its own as its grip loosened on the rag. In an upward stroke, it left the rag and placed itself upon her thick juicy thigh, and squeezed.

Any subtle movements Lady was making stopped, and she turned her head to face him.

He was frozen as she pierced his eyes with hers. He couldn't move, blink or breathe while caught in her gaze, his heart thumping against his chest. The painfully elongated silence was finally broken by her surprising words;

"Mind doing some of that up top? My neck's killing me."

"Uh, sure."

She rested her head back on her folded arms. He had to fight the urge to run his hands up her back to her shoulders and neck. As much as he would have loved to trace the smooth skin of her toned back, he had gotten away with enough in fondling her thigh.

He took the crooks of her neck in his strong grip and started squeezing and rubbing her. She moaned deeply as he continued kneading her sore muscles.

"Ughnnnnnn..." She took more sharp breaths. "Oh, keep going."

He smiled as he continued to grip her hard, his fingers doing wonders to her neck and shoulders. He loved making a woman feel good, even if it was through something as simple as a massage.

"Hold on," She made him stop. "Let me get this annoying fucking thing out of the way."

Her hands shot behind her to unhook her bra. Dante froze again as she successfully undid the strap and slid the bra off of her shoulders.

"There, now do it."

His breathing became noticeable and his hands shook slightly. He couldn't remember the last time a woman made him feel this way. In fact, he couldn't remember any woman ever making him feel this way. His blood was racing in a way it never had before. He hadn't realized until then how much he wanted her. She was the only one who brought out this lust; almost a lack of control.

He tried to calm himself down, but his trembling hands caught her attention as he started up again. She smirked, knowing this was making him terribly nervous and extremely excited at the same time. She could feel him panting behind her as his fingers sunk into her skin again.

"Ohhhh, damn can you give a back rub. "She said in an effort to calm him down.

Lady would never let Dante put his hands on her like this before. She started to think about it as well. Was she feeling closer to him, or were her womanly needs she had abstained from finally catching up to her? Or was it both? She couldn't deny what she was feeling as well. It felt good to be under the caring touch of not only a man, but a friend. She'd been so focused on eradicating the demons that she never afforded herself the pleasures in life. She'd been hurt by and lost anyone she loved she never thought she could feel close to anyone. But she felt something now.

She started to doze off as Dante continued to work her, and after a few more rubs, she fell asleep. He stopped once he realized her steady breathing, and stood up, looking over her body. Perfect was the only word that came to his mind. He knelt over to look closely at her face, so beautiful while she slept. He grabbed the blanket and gently placed it over her. Lost in her beauty, he stroked her hair over her ear, and looked her over one last time before he went up to get some much needed sleep of his own.

**I know I told you all it would be updated soon, but that was 24 hours before I got a hold of this shit called Sweet Tooth. Oh. My. God. I've never eaten more crackers and cheese in my life. But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and just so you know, critique is welcome. I'd appreciate hearing any constructive (keyword) criticism so I can see what I'm doing wrong and correct it. The next chapter is already under way and will be here soon. Oh, yeah, HAH BAHT 'EM STILLERS? Fifteenth AFC Championship game in franchise history. Yeah, they're pretty good.**

**"I woulda' fucked you in the ass Saturday. I'll fuck you in the ass next Wednesday instead. WOO! YOU GOT A DATE WEDNESDAY, BABY!"**

**PEACE!**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Beneath The Shadows_**

**_Chapter 5_**

The train behind the shop was making its morning run, painfully tearing Dante from his pleasant slumber. Upon sitting up, he fell right back, letting his head smack off of the pillow.

"Nobody should be awake at 7:45 in the morning." He thought to himself.

Then he looked over to see that the clock read 2:41; it was the afternoon train.

"... Shit."

The hybrid reluctantly pulled himself from the warmth of his sheets into the stabbing cold of his room. Now stiff due to the sudden change in climate, he raced into the bathroom and quickly turned on the shower, the seconds it took to warm up dragging on like hours while he froze where he stood. While waiting, he gazed at himself in the mirror and decided that Patty and Rick were right; his facial hair was already getting out of control. He did hate how it made him look like an old man, and decided to get rid of it. As the water came to a respectable temperature, he grabbed the razor out of his drawer, and hopped in the wonderful warmth of the shower. He stood there in a trance for nearly ten minutes as the water woke up his tired muscles, almost dropping the razor in his relaxation. The water heated up more as he began running the razor along his face. Dante was never crazy about shaving cream, too much mess. He kept going until his face was smooth, and after a quick once over, exited the shower back into the bitterness of the bathroom.

"Ahhhhh, fucking cold!" He quickly grabbed two towels, wrapping himself with one and letting the other hang around his neck. "Ah, better."

He loaded up his toothbrush and began scraping whatever leftover remnants of pizza and beer breath from the night before away.

Upon finishing his morning routine, the hybrid dressed for the day and made his way down the stairs. Opening the door once at the bottom, he looked out to see Lady moving, almost dancing, about the room, cleaning up everything she could, headphones in her ears.

Dante smiled as he watched with intent, being somewhat of a music aficionado himself. But what he was really appreciating was how great Lady looked while she moved. Every smooth curve, every sexy square inch of her toned body... again, this was all it took to get him going. The most perverted of thoughts would make their way into his head just by watching her move. Oh, the things he would do to her...

He snapped himself out of it and began taking in how wonderful a start to this day was. First and foremost, it was nice just to not hear, "Dante! Wake your ass up and clean up this mess!" which was what he'd been dealing with every morning since she'd been there.

Lady turned and stopped like a deer in headlights when she saw Dante. She let out a long huff and took out her headphones.

"Go ahead, take your best shot numb-nuts."

"Well, normally I would, but since you've done your chores like a good little girl, I'll let you slide."

"Why thanks, ass-hole."

"Wasn't exactly hard on the eyes either."

He got a smile out of her with that.

"Yeah, well if I catch you staring too long-"

"Yeah, yeah, you'll shoot me in the head, heard it and went through it before."

"I was gonna' say I'll slap you senseless, but I guess I _could_ shoot you."

"Anywhere but the area below the waist and above the knees." He motioned with his hands.

"Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't dream of shooting you in what you think with."

"Ouch! That one actually wasn't too bad. When did you get so good at talking shit?"

"I've always been this good."

"... Guess you're right." He laughed.

"Hey…" She said softly.

"Yeah?" He looked up from his magazine.

"I just wanted to say... I appreciate everything you did yesterday. I know it's not much to you, but it means a lot to me. So thanks, Dante. I really mean it."

"What are partners for?"

They stared at each other for a few seconds, matching smiles.

"Alright, how many eggs do you want?" She went over to the refrigerator.

"Five."

"Five? Fatty. Want five pieces of toast to go with that?" She joked.

"Actually, yeah... Do we have any bacon?"

He shot up and began tearing through the freezer in the back.

"Were you smoking a joint up there or something?" She said, her hands on her hips as she watched him dig and dig for his pork, perplexed all the while.

"No, I'm just hungry."

"Apparently. I don't think I've ever seen you eat anything other than pizza and strawberry sundaes."

"Ah-ha!" He victoriously held up the freezer burnt pack of slab bacon.

"... How old is that?"

"Who the fuck cares, it's bacon."

"Well, I guess you would eat anything that could be thrown on a pizza."

"'Cept olives."

"Yes, Dante, I know. You tell them every single time you order one."

Dante threw the bacon in his sink and turned on the hot water. He turned around to see Lady staring at him like he was the biggest idiot.

"… Can I help you?"

"You seriously haven't invested in a microwave yet?"

"Who needs a microwave when the pizza's hot and fresh when it gets here!"

"Ugh, you're unbelievable. How do you manage to get through life everyday?"

"Beer, sleep, pizza, the occasional game of pool, looking at your ass, a card ga-"

"What!"

"Huh?"

She whipped out her pistol. One flirtatious comment was fine, but she wasn't about to let him get carried away with it.

"Don't get any ideas just because I let you give me a massage, Dante."

"Whoa, who's saying anything about any ideas? All I did was admit I enjoy ogling your nice, firm, bubble bum, what ideas did you think I was getting?"

She fired a shot past him, but he didn't even blink.

"And why are you bringing up the massage?" He slowly approached her.

She lifted her gun to him, but he quickly grabbed it and put it down to the side and grabbed her other wrist.

"Let me go, Dante.

"Was it that good, Lady?" He seductively purred, and ran his hands up her arms. This subtle movement was enough to relax her completely. She wasn't sure why, but she couldn't react. Kicking him in the boys should have been the first thing that entered her mind, but she didn't. For some reason, it felt too good.

"Well?" He grinned and looked deeply into her eyes.

As annoyed with his arrogance as she was, she knew he was kind of right. He hadn't really brought up anything about getting any ideas, nor the massage. Did she want him to get any ideas? A chill went through her as she thought of this, but she may have uncovered some sort of truth.

Lady would admit to being extremely attracted to Dante, but what had kept her from thinking about hooking up with him was his attitude and immaturity.

His maturity had improved, but his arrogance didn't leave; he only toned it down a bit. Then again, his attitude did some what attract her to him as well, and this new, moderated arrogance was actually proving to be to her liking. If there was one thing she wanted in a man it was confidence, and she couldn't think anyone on the planet more confident than Dante, which made him turn her on more than anything.

Not to mention the fact that Lady had never been with a man before, in any way. She'd never even been on a date. And at age twenty-one, perhaps her womanly needs were catching up with her.

So was she finally falling for him? After all this time, was he finally getting to her?

"It was that good." She stepped closer to him. "Is my ass that nice?"

His temperature rose at the sultry tone with which she asked the question. He placed his hand on her thigh and began running it up to her firm buttocks, but he was stopped by hers.

"That wasn't an opening, Devil Boy, that was a question."

"And this is my answer." He squeezed her thigh.

Her heart jumped the same way it had the night before when he'd done the same thing. Only this time, he was squeezing much harder, and his hand was moving closer and closer to her butt.

"You wanna' know a secret?"

"Do tell, darling."

"You have a nice ass, too." She whispered in his ear.

And with that, Dante did something that no woman had ever made him do; blush.

Lady inwardly had a mile wide smile. If she was in fact going to fall for him, she was going to torture and have as much fun with him as possible.

She smiled and looked up into his eyes.

"You're sweating..." She brushed his wet bangs away from his forehead.

He had to keep himself from shuttering. Lady had never touched him like that before.

"It's not hot in here... And your face is all red..." She pushed her knee in between his legs. "Am I getting you bothered, Dante?"

He let out a low moan that broadened her seductive smile.

"I am... but only because I'm catching a _very_ lovely fragrance." He teased.

She stopped for a second just to realize how wet she was. No wonder he was so horny.

"You like that?" She slyly asked.

"Give me a second." He took a sharp breath in through his nose, taking in her wonderful scent. "Mmmmmmm, oh yeah."

Lady's face turned a crimson red as she began sweating herself.

"You shaved." She started rubbing his face, trying to distract him from her flushed cheeks.

"You noticed." He took the opportunity to catch her again. She wanted to kick herself once she realized that's what he was doing by the tone of his voice, but she couldn't deny what she was feeling.

They were inching their way closer to each other when the splitting sound of Dante's phone interrupted the moment of intimacy between the two.

"...Fuck." An irritated Dante said.

"Don't worry, you weren't getting any further than that anyway." She shot him a wink.

"No?" He leaned into her ear. "Well, I guess I'll have to do better next time." He whispered, and licked his lips.

He backed away with a smirk to answer the phone.

"Devil May Cry."

"_Devil May Cry, my name's Dante and I love wieners._"

Dante tossed the phone back down, hanging up simply because he was in no mood to deal with Enzo or his prank calls.

The phone started up again. Dante huffed, and picked it back up.

"What the fuck do you want?" He barked once picking up.

"So, that's how you're answering people now?"

"Heh... only when annoying degos call. Haven't heard from you in a few days. I trust you know about what's been going on?"

"Not only do I know what's going on, I've got information." Trish replied.

"Talk."

"Not on the phone. Meet me at Sharky's"

"Alright." Dante hung up.

"Was that Trish?"

"Yeah. Apparently she's got some dirt."

"You want me to come with you?"

"Actually, I need you to go on ahead to Rick's, see if he's heard anything else."

Dante knew that Lady and Trish weren't the biggest fans of one another, and he did need to get in touch with Ricky that day.

"Okay. Plan on doing anything with that bacon?"

"Nah, I'll get a pizza at Sharky's."

"Ugh, really, Dante?"

"...It's a wing pizza."

She laughed.

"Unhealthy topped with even more unhealthy."

"Would I eat anything else?"

"I guess not." She smiled.

He grabbed up his things and headed out the door.

"See ya' in a bit."

Lady stood there, a smile on her face a mile wide. Many thoughts stirred in her head as she went over the last five minutes. That was the closest she and Dante had ever been, and the adrenaline coursing through her body was validation of her feelings for him.

Yet, in the midst of that, she still felt guilty for getting close with him. At first, she thought she it was because she was getting close with a half demon. But she had gotten over that, no matter how much she tried to cling to it as a reason for not hooking up with him. She had eventually come to the conclusion that he was definitely more human than devil; his tears for Vergil at the Temin Ni Gru clearly indicated that.

The reality was that she had become attached to him over the past few years. Despite the fact that they never officially considered themselves partners, they had still done the majority of their jobs together, and spent plenty of time together. Her attitude toward him had gone from the stubbornness of a mule to the intrigue of a scholar, but more so, the interest of a woman.

Perhaps her guilt stemmed from the fear of losing the unique friendship that they had developed by moving too fast. Maybe it was because she was afraid of getting close with anyone after what had happened with her parents. Maybe it was both...

"I need to get going to Ricky's." She interrupted her own train of thought.

* * *

Dante walked through the door of the always-busy Sharky's. Hustle and bustle at 2:30 in the afternoon on a Tuesday. Then again, it was shopping season and people needed to eat. He looked around once and saw Trish sitting in a corner booth, and carefully maneuvered his way through the full tables of people and sat down across from her.

"Alright, what do you have?"

"It's nice to see you, too."

"I'm certain you're lying."

She laughed.

"Take a look at your seven."

He turned to his left.

"The drunk idiot in the booth two to the right of the corner is one of those trappers."

"Well, good thing I don't stick out like a sore fucking thumb." He said in angry sarcasm.

"Don't worry, he didn't see you. Been knocking back shots for almost an hour."

"Guess he's on break."

"I've been trailing his ass for a while now, and I've been able to follow some of his moves and where he goes, but I haven't traced them back to their headquarters yet."

"Find out anything good?"

"The entire group was a former squad of Green Barres."

"Access to military weapons..." Dante said. "What else?"

"This idiot goes to the Alriolto Building downtown every night at six, but I've never seen him leave afterwards."

"How long do you wait?"

"Half hour, hour maybe."

"The Alriolto Building... Isn't that a printing company?"

"Yeah, but it's hard to find someone in this city who doesn't think it's a front."

He laughed.

The man staggered up from his booth.

"Well, time to continue the trail."

"If he goes back there tonight, stay a little longer. Another hour or so."

"I will."

She got up.

"Be careful." He said as she walked away.

The hybrid sat there pondering a lot of things.

"Hey, waitress, one Korean-Wing pizza."

"Gotchya', hun."

Dante leaned back in his seat, watching the multitude of sports channels displayed on the seven or eight TVs in the restaurant. A few more minutes rolled by before someone else joined him

"Hey, fancy seeing you here, jackass."

"Enzo, what are you doing here during lunch? No good specials at the Olive Garden?"

"Wing Tuesday."

"Hmm, maybe they'll discount my pizza then."

"Of course you'd wonder that. Cheap bastard."

"I have to. It's not like your lazy ass is getting me any work."

"Hey, I try, but you always ask Morrison first. Why him all the time, huh?"

"Because he's my agent."

"I thought I was."

"No, he is. You're just my creepy Italian confidant."

"Look paisan, you wanna' hear about this job I got for you over at Maplewood or not?"

"Not if it's today."

"Well of course it's today. What the hell, do you think people fucking reserve your openings or something?"

"No, I just have important things to do. And watch your tone before I slap the taste out of your mouth."

"One Korean Wing pizza!" The waitress delivered his order.

"Thanks." Dante said before tearing off a piece.

"So you're not taking the job, then?"

Dante took a massive bight. "... Does it look like I am?" He mumbled.

"I don't know, I'm unable to determine whether or not you will by watching you eat pizza."

"Well, how do you say 'No' in Italian?"

"No, you jackass."

"Then, 'No, you jackass'. Did I say it right?"

"Va fangu, Dante."

"Yeah, 'Jarred Ragu' to you too, Enzo."

The Italian confidant got up to leave.

"And one more thing. Stop fucking prank calling me."

He grinned and walked out the door.

Dante usually wouldn't refuse a paycheck, but he had more important things to tend to. Gathering what information he could about the trappers was top priority. The job could wait. Besides, he knew Enzo's jobs didn't pay for shit.

The hybrid continued to wolf down his pizza rather quickly, more quickly than usual. Within three minutes, he had the entire thing gone.

"Damn, I'm still hungry."

He wanted to order more, but knew he needed to get going. He threw a twenty on the table and headed back out into the cold.

* * *

"So you think they're in on it?" Lady asked.

"They have to be!"

"Kirk, stop yelling before I punch you in the face." An irritated Ricky said.

"It must have happened right after we left." Lady continued.

"Hey," Dante came through the door. "What's the word?"

"We have a problem." Ricky said. "Kifer got smoked by the cops last night."

"What?"

"Kicked down his door after that little scuffle yesterday to 'question' him, he reacted like a crack head reacts and shot' at 'em. Got shot up with shotgun rounds."

"Then we did a shot of Jim Beam, then shot some hoops, then shot some pool,"

"Hey Chambers, do us all a favor and take a SHOT of antifreeze."

"Only if I can have Saturday off."

"Sure, go nuts."

"Why would they kick down his door though? They have to have a warrant and they have to make him aware!" Kirk said.

"It was probably a drug bust." Dante laughed.

"You think it's funny!" Kirk got up.

"Shut up, Kirk. If you have any sentimental attachments to your face, you'll sit your ass down before he knocks you the fuck out." Ricky said.

"What are you, anyway, his dealer?" Dante laughed again.

Kirk charged Dante, but the hybrid sidestepped and he went tumbling into a table, knocking over and shattering one of Ricky's bongs, who immediately got up and planted five perfect shots from his 9mm right in Kirk's chest, sending him stumbling right past Lady out the door into a bloody heap.

"That was weird." Lady chuckled.

"Jesus Christ, Rick!" One of his men said.

"You fuck with my glass and that's what happens." He returned his gun to its holster.

"That was his bong, man."

"Oh... well whatever, I was sick of his speed-freak-cocaine-havin-ass anyways, always yellin' and shit." He walked over to the cooler to grab a beer. "Well, what the hell are you fucking staring at? Get off your ass and haul him over to the dump. Then clean up that bong water when you're done. Smells like shit."

The man groaned, and got up to dispose of the corpse.

"You're in a wonderful mood." Dante said as Rick tossed him a beer.

"Because this means that they're in cahoots with those fucks."

"The cops?"

"Yeah. Chance said he wants to go after some of them for payback."

Demetrius Chance was the leader of Kifer's crew, and one with a very short temper.

"Chance is a fucking idiot." Lady rolled her eyes.

"Really. He's gonna' get his entire crew smoked." Dante said.

"That's what I told him when I talked to him, but he seems pretty intent on hitting some officers." Rick said.

"Then that's his decision and he can live with it. I'm not getting involved with the cops. Besides, we don't even know if they're in with the trappers for sure."

"Why else would they kill Kifer, though?" Ricky asked.

"He's cost the city thousands of dollars in damages with his bounty hunting. That's that entire crew's problem; they're all drug addicts, so they do whatever's necessary without thought. Bounty hunters like them are the reason we have a bad rep in the first place." Lady said.

"They probably have just been waiting for an opportunity to get rid of him." Dante insisted.

"Maybe..." Rick said. "And hey, I'm a drug addict." He said as he lit up a blunt.

"Yeah, but at least the shit you do doesn't cause you to go out and level an entire bridge to kill three demons." Dante was referring to the incident where Chance engaged in the demolition of the south side bridge in order to kill, as he said, only three demons.

"I remember that." He laughed. "People were pissed the fuck off over that."

"Maybe because that's the only direct route into the next city." Lady laughed.

"Took a damn year to repair. Hey!" Rick shouted at one of his men. "What the hell are you doing?"

The man was fiddling with a large bag on the corner table.

"I was just grabbin' a couple buds."

"You put that shit back right now. That isn't the community quap. Get your own weed, fuckin' mooch."

"Stingy prick."

"Alright guys, I gotta' go. Your little Italian buddy called me with a job over in Maplewood."

"Wow, what a little bitch." Dante thought to himself, referring to Enzo. "He would."

"When you're done, tell him I said to kiss my ass." Dante said.

Rick chuckled.

"Funny, he said you'd say that. Told me to relay, 'Don't be pissed just because you're too lazy to take a simple job.'" Rick laughed and exited the garage, his men following.

"I'm strongly considering punching Enzo in the face next time I see him." Dante said to Lady.

"Now let's not do anything to limit your employment options any further." Lady smirked.

"No shit." Dante agreed.

"Race home?" Lady suddenly suggested.

Dante smirked. "Heh, didn't get enough last time?"

"Yeah, well this time you have to beat me in your car, not a bike twice as fast as mine."

Dante laughed.

"I'll beat you on a scooter, Lady."

The huntress stormed past Dante out to her bike. He knew just how to push her buttons. Her bike was already revved up by the time he even got in his car, and as soon as he turned the ignition she took off.

"Hey, that's no fair!"

He peeled out of the driveway and began chasing after her down the road.

Lady was well on her way while Dante wasn't even close. As he continued to rail her for miles, he groaned at the thought of her bragging and boasting once they got back. With this, he floored it, and began catching up to her. Thankfully traffic wasn't heavy.

The closer they got to Devil May Cry, the closer he got to her. He shifted into another gear and started to creep up on her quickly. Through a few more sharp twists and turns that involved Dante nearly t-boning multiple trash cans, they came to the final main drag with Dante trailing Lady just a bit. They floored it and cranked it, and went screaming down the final lane. Just as Dante was about to pass Lady, she swerved over into his lane. He slammed on the breaks, and Lady sped off to the front of Devil May Cry.

"That was some bullshit." He said as he got out of the car once pulling up.

"I don't even wanna' hear your excuses."

"You're a cheater and you know it."

"Bitch, bitch, bitch, that's all you do when I win."

"Whatever, Lady."

They went back inside and Dante threw off his coat.

"Now," He looked at her and started getting closer. "Where were we?" He grabbed her above her hips.

"Dante," She said as he started rubbing her. "Mmm, I think we should take this slow."

"Don't worry, babe..." He inched his way closer to her." ... I won't go fast..." He leaned into her ear. "... At first."

She could almost feel the smirk form on his face as her cheeks nearly burst into flames. The hybrid began softly pushing his forehead against her crimson face, the smooth, hot skin stiffening him up in more ways than one. Lady couldn't deny that she loved this, but she still wasn't ready to go this far.

"Dante..." She had to stop when his eager hands started at her hips and began working their way up her smooth, slender physique. "Ohh... I'm serious..."

"I'm serious, too." He breathed out while his hands moved to her back.

Lady began feeling like she was losing herself to him, and had to put a stop to it.

"Dante!" She said sternly.

Dante stopped what he was doing and backed away. He knew that she wasn't kidding, and wasn't about to blow it just because of his excitement.

"Sorry." Dante managed through heavy breaths. "I just..." He couldn't think of anything.

"It's okay."

Lady didn't want Dante to think that she was angry with him. In truth, she was quite pleased with his restraint. Had this have happened two years ago, he wouldn't have stopped until he had gotten what he wanted.

As time went on, and as Dante showed more of these signs of maturity, the guilt that she was under for having feelings for him was gradually lifting.

Why was she just now letting him in? Because he had made some of the right changes, and she had finally realized it.

Then again, after the ten thousandth time she screamed, "Grow up, Dante!" it probably started to sink in.

She knew full well that he still wasn't perfect, but that wasn't what she wanted him to be.

She just wanted to give it a little more time.

"I'm pretty tired." She said.

"Alright, I understand." Although it was early, he knew the last couple of days had been exhausting. "I have to go meet up with Trish about one of the trappers she's been following."

"Find out something good."

Dante laughed. "I'll try."

They stood there for a few seconds, locked in each other's gaze again. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence so much as it was a confirmation between the two that things had in fact changed. Dante knew it wasn't going to be rushed, but he was still having a hard time not taking it now. He would wait, though. For her.

"Have a good nap."

She smiled. "Thanks."

Dante pulled up alongside Trish atop the parking garage where she was staked out.

"Anything happen yet?" He said as he exited the car.

"No, and I've been sitting here for two hours."

"Damn. Anyone else go in or out?"

"A few, but I didn't see him."

"Probably passed out after all that drinkin'."

"Probably." Trish laughed.

Both turned their attention to the lot of the Alrioloto Building. The place was heavily suspected for being a coke front, but it hadn't had so much as one police raid in the six years since it had been built.

Dante was staring straight ahead, not saying a word, his mind still on Lady. After a few more minutes of silence, Trish decided to inquire about it.

"What's on your mind?" She said quickly, staring him right in the face.

"Huh? Nothing. Why?"

"Dante, you think I don't know when you're lying, or when you're thinking about something?"

"I'm thinking about getting these pricks. That's where my focus is."

Trish studied him as he turned back to staring at the building.

"... It's Lady, isn't it?" She smirked.

"What? No! Why would I be thinking about her?"

"Because you wanna' fuck her."

His heart jumped.

"Heh..." He tried to muster a fake laugh. "And exactly what indicates that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe that myself, Morrison, and Enzo have all caught you staring at her ass like a zombie on multiple occasions. Actually, no. It's that you take every single job she brings you despite the fact that they all suck."

Dante's heart began racing because he knew she was right.

"You know what, this is actually it. It's that she's living with you rent free."

"I'm just trying to help her out."

"And since do you help out anyone who isn't paying you or sucking you off?"

"Shut the fuck up, Trish!" He glared at her with clenched fists, his hands shaking in anger. His head was spinning about Lady enough, and he really didn't need Trish poking at him.

Trish smiled again. She wasn't putting Dante through this because she was jealous; if he and Lady hooked up she could have given two shits. She just hated it when Dante tried to hide the obvious. And for what? So he could maintain his badass macho man persona? No, she was going to get it out of him.

"You know, I never told you this..." Dante calmed down with her words. "... But about a year and a few months, I was having this talk with Lady about you."

"Yeah, right." Dante scoffed.

"Only she came to me about it."

This caught Dante's interest as he looked to her intently for more information.

"It was over the summer. I guess the heat in conjunction with her hormones made you her ultimate object of desire."

Dante was flabbergasted. "Really?"

"Oh, yeah. She said things to me like, "Every time I see him sitting there in his office shirtless, I just wanna' rip his pants off and ride him til' dusk."

Dante's ego was stroked very much so by this statement. He never knew Lady had feelings for him like that before.

"Why the hell did I never notice this?" Dante half smiled and half yelled.

"Because you're stupid, hun." She lightly slapped his cheek, making him let out a dejected sigh.

"But she never did, though..." He started. "'Cause I'm a devil."

"Dante," She huffed. "Lady's over that. She knows who you are is who you are, not what you are. You wanna' know what it is?"

He looked at her.

"She doesn't wanna' ruin what you two have. You can both deny it all you want, but you two have gotten pretty close these last few years. That's why she doesn't wanna' rush into this with you right away. You two _are_ friends, and she doesn't wanna' lose that by complicating things."

Dante couldn't speak. He was in deep thought about this.

"Just be patient, hun. Trust me."

Dante nodded, his mind now racing in a thousand different directions.

"I need to take a drive." He brushed his hair back. "Let me know if anything happens."

"Don't worry, it's not looking like anything will."

He started getting back in his car.

"Hey," He looked at her. "Thanks."

"Anytime, hun."

* * *

Dante cruised down the freeway accompanied only by the sound of the open window. No matter how cold it was, he never drove with his window up. It could have been -50 with hail and he'd still have his window down.

The hybrid was well over the speed limit, but no matter how fast he went, he still wasn't able to stop thinking about Lady.

"God is she gorgeous." Most others wouldn't agree, but only because of simple human nature. Visual perception. Most people will characterize someone within the first five seconds of meeting them, almost all of this immediate characterization based on optics and how the mind reacts to what the eyes see. Upon seeing the scarred bridge of her nose, people immediately fixate on it. But upon looking past it, Lady had the most beautiful, captivating face Dante'd ever seen. Smooth skin, great facial structure from top to bottom, those lips... how he fantasized about those lips... and the wicked smile they formed when she knew she had him, whatever that happened to mean at the time, and those eyes... they had to have been given to her from an angel. Heterochromatic, and truly breathtaking to gaze into, like a perfectly starlit sky on a cool mountain night... and all under a perfect mess of raven hair, her bangs the perfect length.

Then, after he got over just how beautiful she truly was, his attention shifted to her perfect body. Smooth, slender legs, thick toned thighs and ass, perfectly shaped hips, flat stomach, toned as her back, small, slender arms, smooth shoulders... her breasts... those big, firm, wonderful breasts that he wanted nothing more than to bury his face in...

"Man, I need some tunes."

He turned the dial, hoping to get rid of these thoughts. As much as he did want all of the above, he still respected Lady as a partner, a friend, and as a woman. He wanted these thoughts gone so they didn't lead to him doing something to her that he would regret.

Through a few scrambled stations, he eventually caught a decently steady stream of audible songs.

_"Baby, let's... let's stay together... lovin' you whether... whether... times are good, or bad, either happy or sad."_

_*Scramble*_

_"Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time... Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you."_

_*Scramble*_

_"I did it all for the nookie! (Come on!) The nookie! (Come on!) So you can take that cookie, and stick it up your (Yeah!) stick it up your (Yeah!) stick it up your-"_

"Fuck!" He completely smashed his radio with a single jab.

The station changed again and stuck on that one. Dante recognized the song that was playing, and was relieved that he was at least stuck on one of his favorites. It was a semi-slow paced heavy riff, perfect to get his mind off of Lady... until he started listening to the lyrics.

_"Something has to change. Undeniable dilemma. Boredom's not a burden anyone should bear."_

Dante went into deep thought about these feelings that had arisen in him over the past week. Every time he so much as looked at Lady he became aroused nearly to the point of irritating. His appetite had exploded as well. The morning tear through for food, the devouring of the pizza at Sharky's, the chips at Ricky's…he hadn't had this appetite for a while Just as he was driving, he was distracted from the road by an In-And-Out Burger sign.

"Ughhhhh… burgers…"

_"Not enough. I need more. Nothing seems to satisfy. I don't want it, I just need it, to breath, to feel, to know I'm alive."_

Then, it hit him. He didn't know why it took so long for him to realize it. It had been more than a while, and it would happen every few years or so. It then struck him why he had slept so long that morning, and a chill went down his spine.

He was in season, an absolutely insane amplification of demonic needs. Sleep, feed, kill, and mate.

"Fuck… fuck, not now, not with Lady living with me." He wracked his brain against his skull.

"But why would I refuse that job if I needed to kill? And I've always wanted to hook up with Lady." Now he was trying to convince himself.

He looked up from his train of thought to see that he was in the wrong lane, and about to smash into another car head on.

"Shit!"

A chorus of screeching tires and horns filled the air as Dante swerved back into his lane just in the nick of time, followed by a comically fading, "Learn how to fucking drive, ass-hoooooooole!" from the other driver.

The hybrid let out a huge sigh of relief as he stared straight ahead at the road like a robot.

"I need a drink."

* * *

Dante passed a few nightclubs once along the strip. Some were packed, some not so much. He parked alongside one that looked busy, but not impossible to get into.

The brisk air hit him as he stepped out into the busy streets. He walked down the sidewalk an imposing force, everyone knowing who he was, looking at him with respect and doing everything they could not to get in his way. His reputation preceded him so much so that he received zero resistance from the bouncer at the door of the club he went into.

"Club High… Heh, don't make it too obvious what they're doing in here." He thought to himself.

A very live setting was what Dante walked into, a large crowd of dancers in the center, music blasting from the speakers, the DJ spinning and mixing non-stop, people off to the sides taking shots, lines, and hits of whatever they could to feel good. It was times like this that Dante almost wished he were a drug addict. At least then, especially in this time period of complete lust, he'd have something else to fall back on.

At least the bar was just at the end of the room.

The large crowd parted for Dante as he walked right through the middle to the bar, old school K-Dee playing in the background.

"What are ya' havin', my man?" The bartender asked as he sat down.

Dante wondered for a second. Maybe beer, but hell, he drank two cases a day. He needed something that would really get his mind off of things.

"Double shot of Everclear."

The bartender gave him a strange look, but nevertheless leaned down to retrieve the bottle.

"What the hell's this shit?" Dante snapped once the bottle was on the counter. "No 151. 190."

"... You fuckin' serious?"

Dante responded by pointing his two fingers down on the bar. The bartender gave another odd look before replacing the bottle with the right one, then poured Dante his shot.

"You want me to call poison control now?"

The hybrid downed the near toxic drink. It burned like hell, but he yielded not so much as a small cough. The bartender almost fell over in astonishment.

"Let's get through half a bottle first, then we'll see." He said before tearing into the basket of pretzels sitting on the bar. "Since when do clubs have snacks on the bar?" He laughed.

"Hey, you're enjoying them, aren't you?"

Dante simply raised his eyebrows and nodded, continuing to put away the salty snack.

A woman who was sitting a few seats down scooted over.

"Wow," She said in an almost idiotic tone. "I've never seen someone take that down before." She was now sitting next to him. "You must have an expert tongue."

"Oh, this would happen." Dante thought to himself.

"It is skilled." He boasted, feeling a bit woozy from the shot.

"Yeah?" She moved closer to him. "Why don't you show me how skilled it is..."

There was nothing more that Dante wanted to do than take this girl. It would relieve his burning lust, at east for the time being. But he didn't. It didn't matter if this was an easy out for him. He was still thinking about Lady. His skin was starting to heat up again.

"Maybe some other time." He got up and made his way to the bathroom.

A few guys were exiting as he walked in, most likely getting done with a drug deal. He turned on the cold water and splashed his face as he looked into the mirror.

"Damn, that was a good shot."

The door flung open and that girl made her way in.

"What's wrong, big boy?" She pushed herself on him. "Don't you want this?"

Dante let out a painful breath. There was nothing more he needed than this right now, and he wanted to take it so badly.

Yet... he couldn't. When he looked at the girl, he still saw her. He still saw Lady.

"Come on. I'll make it quick." She pushed up against his crotch.

"Ughhh..." He moaned. "... I can't." He slipped out from under her and began walking back outside.

"I wasn't asking you, half breed!"

Dante turned to see the girl transform into a gruesome demon, and he wasted no time in withdrawing Ebony and Ivory to unload on her. The demon didn't take two steps forward before the hybrid had dropped it.

Screams echoed from the main room of the club as Dante caught the scent.

Another one of his rules; where there's one, there's more.

He exited the bathroom and quickly dashed out the back exit. Sure enough, there stood a group of demons, none of them large in size.

Kill.

Dante put his guns away, and grew a rather sadistic smile. He began hopping in place as if he were getting jacked up for a football game, and extended his hand to the demons. Staring right at them, he motioned, "Bring it."

He stood statuesque as they charged at him. The first one that got near him was greeted with a back kick to the face, little particulates of demon skull flying all over the nearby walls. Another rose up its claw to strike the hybrid, but as it brought it down, Dante caught its wrist, grabbed it, and swung the demon into the edge of a brick wall, breaking it in half.

With ease, Dante landed blow after blow up the remaining demons while not getting a scratch the whole time. He'd forgotten how much better he was while in season.

The last remaining demon was on its knees, Dante right behind it. He placed his left hand on its right temple, and right hand on its left jaw. Then, with one single motion, he ripped the demons head off of its shoulders as if it were paper Mache.

The hybrid took in a deep inhale, and let out a demonic groan in satisfaction, smiling up at the sky.

His moment of relief was short lived when he heard the sirens. He quickly made his way through the alley back to his car, and took off, mixing in with the rest of the scattering crowd.

"Dodged a bullet with that bitch." Dante thought to himself as he flew down the highway. He was surprised he didn't realize she was a demon to begin with. But his mind was elsewhere. It was on Lady.

* * *

Dante softly pushed the door of his office open so as not to wake Lady. The whole ride home, he still couldn't stop thinking about her.

He walked over to see her skirt slipped up once again, but this time, there were no booty shorts, but only a skimpy black thong.

The hybrid dropped his car keys where he stood, and began staring at the bare skin of her wonderful ass like a horny teenager.

"... God. Damn." It was the most beautiful piece of ass he'd ever seen, and the sudden discomfort in his pants indicated that.

He just stared at it for an eternity before a thought crept into his head.

"No..." He told himself. But his body didn't care.

Moving closer to her, he leaned over the bed, and his hand started moving towards that gorgeous piece of flesh. It trembled uncontrollably before he eventually placed in on her right butt cheek, and squeezed. His heart nearly exploded in rhythm as he groped the muscular, yet soft flesh of her ass. She turned over and he nearly fainted, praying that she didn't wake up. He stood there frozen, not breathing. After a few moments, he decided she was still asleep, and made his way up the stairs. The same dizziness from his previous lack of self control returned with this one.

Once in his room, and even after five minutes, his painful erection had still yet to subside, and his temperature was rising at an excessive rate. Just to get comfortable, he removed his shirt and pants, and made his way into the bathroom to splash more cold water on his face.

"Jesus Christ." He said to himself through shaky breaths. "Get a hold of yourself, Dante."

But he couldn't. The image, and now the feeling of Lady, and that magnificent posterior, replayed in his mind. The need to mate had escalated to the point where he could no longer take it, and he needed relief. As shitty as he knew it would make him feel, he'd have done something he regretted more if he didn't. He looked down at his tented boxers, and pushed them down to his knees. He looked at himself in the mirror, then looked back down, and let out a sigh of disappointment in himself. He wanted to control it, but he simply couldn't any longer. His free hand placed on the sink, he began working himself. He couldn't even think of anything else other than Lady. He pictured her completely bare, spread out on his bed. He imagined running his hands all over, parting her thighs, and diving into her sweetness. He began feeling better as he continued, but just as his luck with women would have it, the bathroom door swung open, and Lady came in, simply wanting to use the bathroom, and of course, right as he breathed out, "Oh, Lady."

The hybrid looked over to see her frozen, eyes wide as saucers, and nearly jumped.

"Lady!"

The huntress covered her mouth to hide her enormous smile and quickly exited the bathroom and slammed the door. She stood outside the door, still covering the smile on her face.

Dante wanted to punch a hole through his wall.

"Why couldn't she have just stayed the fuck asleep!" He thought to himself as he upped his boxers.

"Lady..." He said with the guiltiest tone. "I'm so-"

"Dante, don't be." Lady reassured him from the other side of the door. "I should have knocked."

He smiled and almost laughed. The fact that she didn't give him all the grief in the world made him feel much better about the situation.

"Guess you've seen me do everything now, huh?" He said.

"Guess so." She laughed.

Lady made her way back down the stairs to her bed. She'd forgotten she even had to use the bathroom in all the excitement. She lay back down on her bed, thinking about Dante. She knew that he was thinking of her, but not to the point where he'd do that. She smiled again, realizing how crazy he was about her. The image of Dante she had just gotten was now on repeat in _her_ mind, and before she could doze back off into sleep...

... She had to rub herself a few times.

**OK, I know I tell you every time it'll be here soon, but it never is. You wanna' know why?... Cause' it's FOUR TIMES THE STEEEEEAAAAAAK!**

**In all seriousness, an overabundance of schoolwork has really put a damper on then whole writing process (If I have to come up with one more God damn target audience, I'm burning that mother fucker to the ground.)**

**Favorites, alerts, and hits have still been pouring in, the majority over ABN. It's probably gonna' be awhile until I update that story again, my focus being on this for now. One of the songs used in this chapter is now the basis for the rest of ABN (I thought for awhile that that story had reached the end of its rope, but after a bong hit and a good listen, the ideas for finishing it came to me.) I've also been working on a DantexOC Parody (MarinaEverlasting, you beat me to it, and that story was pretty funny) inspired by Henry Rollins, because Henry Rollins inspires us all everyday.**

**Credit to Al Green, Paul McCartney and Wings, and Tool for the lyrics used. Also K-Dee for the mention.**

**"They're gonna' kill her, Walter. And then they're gonna' kill me."**

**"Dude... That's... That's just the stress talkin', man."**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Beneath The Shadows_**

**_Chapter 6_**

A restless Dante paced worriedly about his room. The anxiety about simply going downstairs to face Lady had him in a complete rut. There were endless possibilities of what she could say, what she would do, if she would even still be there.

But he had been awake for almost two hours, and it was time to give his exhausted nerves a break. The achingly slow pace at which he turned the knob of the door only amplified its traveling groan, the hybrid letting out a heavy exhale before making his way down the petrified wooden steps. Silence greeted him by the time he got to the bottom. Lady was still asleep, which brought him immediate relief. He started to focus on controlling the volume of his breathing as he attempted to descend softly into his chair. Despite his success, Lady still began to stir, and his heart started to race rapidly, a small line of sweat now forming on his brow.

His raven-haired companion turned over and began reluctantly forcing open her eyes. Dante took in one more deep breath before preparing himself to speak, praying his voice didn't shake nervously while attempting to muster up sound.

"Hey," He said as her eyes fluttered open.

"Mmm, hey." She sleepily moaned.

"Sleep ok?" The question even sounded stupid to him.

"Yeah," She lightly chuckled at his odd question.

He hastily picked up one of his scattered magazines and flipped it open. He dove into the first page he turned to and pretended to read the articles intently.

Lady knew better, though.

"Cha' readin'?" She said slyly after stretching out.

Instead of making a feeble attempt at answering her, Dante simply laughed, and lazily threw his escape from awkwardness back down onto the desk.

"Guess I shouldn't have expected you to not bust my balls."

"Why not?" She smirked. "It's not my fault you have no self-control."

"Actually, it is." He boldly defended his position.

"Really?" She hopped off the bed and made her way over to her partner. His eyes never left her as she slowly drew closer. "Did somebody else take your hand and make it squeeze my ass last night when I was sleeping?"

The hair on the back of Dante's neck stood up instantly.

"Damn her." He thought to himself.

"Actually, it wasn't my hand, it was my foot. You just thought it was my hand because I'm that damn good."

He put on his big cheesy smile and tossed his feet up on the desk, victoriously resting his head back on his hands, not caring how idiotic he had just sounded.

"So, you were stroking yourself with your _foot _last night when you were moaning my name?" She propped herself up on the desk and slowly crossed her left leg over her right.

Dante dropped his right hand down to his side and clenched his fist. It shook violently while he repressed his intense urges, the burning want to grope and suck every square inch of her voluptuous body increasing with every second he looked at her.

"You're sweating again, devil boy." Her fingernails tapped the surface of the desk in triplets.

"You're talking about events from the previous night again, Lady."

"That's what's making you sweat?" She got down from the desk and straddled her partner. His heart jumped like it never had before. "Or is it something else?" She pushed down on his chest. His only response was a low groan.

"Tell you what…" She ground up on him, pushing her full chest inches away from his face, and hers next to his ear. His bangs were once again glued to his forehead. "How about a little game of pool." She seductively whispered. "I win, you have to finish up your little 'session' from last night, right here in this chair, right in front of me." She gripped the back of his hair, forcing him to throw his head back with a smile. "But if you win…" She stared down at his crotch. "... I'll finish it for you."

"Well," He enthusiastically cheered. "We haven't had one of our little wagers in quite some time."

"Is it a bet or not?" She said sternly.

Dante pulled Lady back down to him, his hands on her upper arms, holding her tight to him as he gazed deep into her mismatched eyes.

"You're on."

Her ruby red lips grew wide. She pushed herself away from him and went over to the table to set up.

Although his nerves were a wreck, Dante was also very excited. His racing heart and rush of adrenaline was a combination of so many emotions he was feeling over Lady, and as strange as it was to him, he was beginning to like it. After all, if a woman was making him this crazy just to think about her, he could only imagine how great it would be once he finally had her. He came to the determination that the process was what was making this whole experience so fantastic and so fascinating, that after a few years of being patient and at least _trying_ to "grow up" he'd finally earned this chance with her. And he was close. So close that he could smell it, taste it… feel it. He ultimately decided to stop worrying about blowing it so much and to just be himself. He was finally going to enjoy it.

And hell, she obviously wanted it; otherwise an armory's worth of nine-millimeter bullets would have been inserted into his forehead by now.

The huntress was just finishing up racking as Dante came over with the sticks.

"You break, babe." His smooth tone brought the hottest smile to her face.

She slowly walked around him on the way to the front.

"Good luck." She slapped him on the ass.

He quick stepped behind her and gave her bare firm ass a nice hard whack, making it jiggle so sexy.

She turned violently and began to withdraw her gun, but wasn't quick enough for the sly half-breed.

"Too rough, Lady?" He growled roughly as he caught her wrist in his firm grip.

"Mmm, not rough enough. " She reached up and bit his ear, tugging him down before licking it upwards to his hair. He quickly ran his left hand from her thigh up to her side and squeezed her large firm breast, which was covered only by her blouse.

She let out a whimpering breath that tingled upon his neck, sending shockwaves down through his entire body. These quick series of sensations were making them both nearly lose it.

"I want you so bad, Lady." His voice trembled into her ear before he submerged to kiss and suck the sensitive, smooth, milky white flesh of her neck.

"Ohhh," She moaned as she aggressively gripped the back of his coat. "I know." Her hot breath continued to stimulate him.

Her leg was twisted around his while their bodies pressed up against one another. After a few more moments she backed away quickly, staring at him as he drew in deeply through his nose.

"Ahh," he breathed. "You smell so good, Lady."

His companion blushed. She then smiled wickedly, and dipped two of her fingers under her skirt and thong. She gasped, and then brought them back up, covered with her sticky sweet fluids. She then proceeded to lick them clean, causing her partner to drop his cue on the floor in lust. He started to walk towards her, but was halted by her extended pool cue hitting him in the chest.

"We have a bet to settle, Dante."

"How could I forget?" He adjusted his pants, indicating to her his obvious discomfort.

"Don't worry, we'll fix _that_ problem. One way or the other." She mischievously smirked, positioning herself to break.

He laughed and picked up his stick. Lady launched the Q-ball into the triangle of colored orbs, scattering them across the red canvas. Two solids fell in, and she started in on her torture. Dante stood helplessly by as Lady sunk every last solid ball without even batting an eye. Her time as a teenager was spent mostly in billiards becoming the pool shark she was today, and she was expertly dropping each of her targets without any danger of hitting the 8-ball or any stripes. The 1-ball was the last one left for Lady before the 8-ball, and she sunk it just as easy as she had the others.

"Your right hand ready?"

Dante laughed.

"You're such a bitch."

She smiled, and got ready to sink the 8-ball and his fate. The shot was line drive, no problem what so ever.

"I can't believe I'm about to service myself in front of her." He thought to himself. "Oh well, might as well give her the best show I can."

But just as she was about to strike, she adjusted her angle, and sent the Q-ball into the left middle cup.

"Oops," She put her hand to her mouth as she set her cue down. "I scratched. It looks like you win, Dante."

Her wide-eyed partner dropped his cue again as she started to walk over to him, the horniest look he'd ever seen adorning her beautiful face. Everything around him was melting except for her. Dante had never been so anxious in his entire life, and his stunned body language indicated that. He was nearly hyperventilating as Lady shoved him down on to the table, scattering the rest of the balls about the table. She was once again straddling him as she pushed up his shirt, revealing his rapidly heaving chest. She began kissing circles on his muscular physique, and he could now only laugh in astonishment while he pushed his wet bangs back past his hairline and stared up to the slow moving fan that unsteadily hung from the ceiling. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening. That this was finally happening.

Her tongue was now devilishly working its way down his body, licking and sucking his skin, expertly tonguing his naval, making him tense with every new move while he caressed her bare back under her blouse. Before getting to his waist, she crawled her way back up to his face like a tiger stalking her prey. Her transfixing gaze pushed him further into ecstasy as she licked his neck back up to his ear again.

"You wanna' fuck me, Dante?" She moaned into his ear.

The hybrid could feel goose bumps form on his skin at the conclusion of those words.

"Ohh, Lady, you have no idea."

"Oh, but I think I do."

She licked a final trail down his chest and stomach to his waistline, where she began slowly undoing his pants.

"You ready?" She said as she pulled down the zipper.

"Yes." He growled.

"Here it comes, Dante."

Her lust-filled voice was on repeat in his mind.

"Dante. Dante. Dante…"

"Dante!" Lady's loud tone was accompanied by pounding knocks on the door from the other side. "Wake your ass up, it's almost three o' clock!"

Dante woke up in a cornucopia of a situation; Lady nearly banging down his door, sweating and breathing heavily, heart racing, and a complete cluster-fuck of a mindset regarding his extraordinarily vivid dream and his sudden plunge back down into reality.

"Uh!" He said. "Yeah, I'll be out!"

"What the fuck!" He thought to himself. The dream felt so real that it took him a second to separate it from reality. "Damn it... haven't had one like those in a while."

He stretched out and let out a loud yawn.

"And don't fall back asleep, we seriously have to get going!"

He let out a sleepy groan.

His partner responded by the door open, catching his attention quite effectively.

"Guess knockings a thing of the past, huh?"

"Guess waking up before noon's a thing of the past also." She snapped.

Dante looked over to the clock that read 2:54.

"... I guess it is." He smiled impishly.

"Ugh. Well, at least you're not stroking that damn farm silo of yours."

"There it is!" Dante cheerfully threw his arms up. "I'm honestly surprised it wasn't the very first thing you said."

She laughed. "Hurry up, dip-shit."

As much as he really wanted to go back to sleep, Lady sounded serious, and he decided to get his ass going. At least it was a nice day out.

The hybrid almost fell coming down the stares like a herd of buffalo, slamming through the door, greeted by an outstretched phone from Lady.

"Ricky." She said as she handed him the phone. "He sounds pissed."

"What's the deal?" he covered the mouthpiece.

"Ask him." She shrugged.

"Rick," He said as he brought the phone to his ear.

"Dante!" Rick aggressively shouted from the other end. "We have some serious fucking shit we need to talk about!"

"Okay, Rick, first of all, lower and change the tone of your voice right now." Dante respected Rick, but the last thing he was going to do was take him screaming at him through a telephone, especially when he had no clue what the hell was even going on. "Now, tell me what happened."

He could tell that Rick was trying to relax on the other end.

"That damn deggo agent of yours set us up!"

"What?"

"My crew and I got to that 'job' yesterday, and there were no demons. We waited for not thirty seconds before those motherfucking trappers came out of nowhere and started spraying us with led."

After being surprised with this information, Dante became enraged. Enzo came to him first with that job, and if Ricky was right about him setting him up, it meant that the sting was originally meant for him, and that Enzo had tried to fuck him.

"They killed all but three of my guys, and now I have two huge bullet holes and shrapnel in my ass!" Rick's attention went to one of his surviving crewmembers in the background. "Where's my fucking pain killers you jagoff?" He then redirected the conversation to Dante. "And I've been calling him since last night and no response!""

"Shit..." An aggravated Dante mumbled on the other end.

"I'm finding out where these pricks are and I'm putting an end to them!"

"Relax, Rick. You wanna' get killed?" Dante dismissively snapped. "Don't worry, I'll be paying Enzo a little visit."

"Good. And you tell that spaghetti slurping, gelato eating, wine sipping whop that his ass is getting smoked!"

Dante hung up the phone without responding.

"Well," He looked at Lady. "Looks like we're going to Enzo's."

* * *

The stench of bourbon and cigarette smoke permeated from the drunken heap that was Enzo. A long night of gambling had unavoidably turned into a long night of drinking, and despite having nearly no memory of the night whatsoever, he was pretty sure he got back in around six in the morning. The thunderous sound of knocking woke him from his alcohol-induced coma, forcing him to drag himself to the door.

"Ah, hold the fuck on, I'm coming." He complained as the knocks continued.

The hung over agent groggily peered through the eyehole to see Dante and Lady, and opened the door. As he backed up, the hybrid stormed through the door and grabbed him, slamming him up against the wall.

"Jesus Christ, Dante!"

"You mind explaining to me exactly what the hell that 'job' was yesterday?"

"What are you talking abou-"

"Don't fuck with me, Enzo." You working with these pricks? You try to set me up for a sting, huh, you little shit?" He slapped his face back and forth a few times.

"Dante, I swear, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Really? Rick's crew got ambushed at that job you sent them to. The same one you tried to send me to. Mind explaining that?"

"What?"

Dante viciously kneed him on the gut, hunching his agent in his grip.

"You hard of hearing all of a sudden? Everyone but him and three others from the crew he took his dead. Said he's been trying to get a hold of you since last night? So," He lifted Enzo off his feet, bringing him face to face with his bewildered agent. "Please do your best to explain to me why I shouldn't deliver your ass to Rick personally."

"Look," He struggled to speak through Dante's tight grip. "The man who came to me with the job didn't give me much information other than that demons had been attacking people around that area. He told me that he'd call me after he confirmed that the job was done."

"You took a job from someone who gave you no contact or payment information?" Dante looked at him as if he were the dumbest person on the planet. "I guess protocol doesn't mean shit to you anymore, huh?"

"I'm willing to take whatever job comes along in this shit economy." He grumbled. "And I had a long night in Atlantic City, I had no idea Rick was calling."

Dante stared at Enzo for a few more moments, and let him go.

"You'd better call his ass right now and pray that he's as understanding as I am." He started to walk out. "And if I found out you're lying, I may be so inclined as to stab you." He let Lady exit first then slammed the door.

* * *

"So, where'd you go last night?" Her tone was sharp as Dante cruised down the highway.

"Is that a question or an interrogation?" Dante replied.

"I don't know, you tell me."

"So what, just because I didn't get any from you I _had_ to go looking for it somewhere else?"

"Did you?"

"No! I went to the bar for a drink but wound up fighting off a group of demons instead. But this was all after I pissed away my time trying to get some damn info from Trish. Sorry I wasn't peacefully napping at home like you."

"Oh, kiss my ass Dante."

"Bend over and lift your skirt."

"Don't get pissy with me just because you have a case of the blue balls."

"Who says I have blue balls?"

"You weren't jacking off last night when I came up to use the bathroom?"

Dante swallowed nervously.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She paused briefly. "But then again, I guess that means you weren't out trolling for brainless tramp ass."

He looked over to her.

"I'm sure you don't know too many other, '_Ohh, Lady_'s around town."

He smiled and shook his head.

"Thanks for not making me feel weird about it, I appreciate it a whole bunch."

"Any time, devil boy."

"And you're not really sending me consistent messages either, Lady. One minute it's, 'No, we're moving too fast.', the next it's you hounding me about where I was last night like we we're married. You must not have much relationship experience."

"So you think you know me all of a sudden?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Lady, I do know you first of all, and secondly, I'm just trying to figure out why you're being such a stubborn brat about this."

"You're damn lucky I haven't castrated you yet for how close you've gotten." She snapped. "If you don't have the patience to wait for me, then you can go fuck yourself."

"I've waited for you for almost three years," He glared into her eyes. "I'm not stopping now."

The two stopped and realized just how fast each others hearts were beating. This turned into a heated confrontation between the two, and both of them were surprised at how angry they were. But Dante's final words let her know that he was going to do everything within his power to win her over, and despite their argument, Lady felt very reassured by this.

The two sat in uncomfortable silence until Dante restarted his advances.

"So," he started in his annoyingly interested tone. "Farm silo, eh?" he smiled at her. "Should I be taking that as a compliment?"

Lady turned to Dante, and returned the smile.

"I don't know how you move around as well as you do, with that fucking… thing weighing you down."

Dante's face started to burn.

"So yeah?" He asked.

"You know, you do actually look kind of cute when you blush."

"What? I don't look cute any other time?" He asked, genuinely somewhat offended.

She chuckled. "Nah, not cute. The rest of the time, I consider you to have more of a masculine, handsome look."

He smiled and looked into the mirror.

"Yeah, I guess I do." He arrogantly stroked his chin.

"Ugh, you're the most full-of-yourself fucking person I've ever met."

"You haven't let me express how I feel about how you look."

"Well I would, but I'm afraid of the vulgarities that are more than likely to come out of your mouth."

"I love the way your bangs hang over your eyes," He started. "I love looking past them to those eyes. The most beautiful I've ever seen. All perfect compliments to your smooth skin, your absolutely perfect facial structure, and those ruby red lips that I know have to taste like strawberry sundaes."

"… Pffft," She laughed. "You are such a damn cornball."

"Hey, I had to try." He laughed. "But why are _you_ blushing?"

Lady shot her hand up to feel her cheeks burning.

"I must have tugged on the right strings with that one."

"Well, I'm a woman, I'm obviously gonna' take in what you said a little bit."

"And I'm full of myself." Dante smirked.

"Shut up!" She barked.

"Oh, I forgot the last part of my description of you; absolutely fantastic legs, thighs, ass and tits. Pussy's probably even better."

Lady started hammering his shoulder with haymakers, trying not to laugh while screaming, "You ass-hole!"

"Oww! Oww! Driving!"

Lady stopped when she saw the flashing of blue and red lights around the corner.

"Damn, there must be some serious shit going on over there." Dante said as he looked at the house with a convoy of police and emergency vehicles out front.

Lady examined the house closely, and a sinking feeling hit her once going over it.

"Dante…" She said in an extremely worried tone. "… Isn't that Patty's house?"

The hybrid froze, his facial expression turning from that of joy to a chilling focus. Without saying anything, Dante pulled the car over to the curb.

"Dante?" Lady asked.

He didn't respond, and quickly exited the car. She hastily followed him out into the suddenly overcast weather. She had to move fast to keep up with him as he moved swiftly through the crowd.

Two stretchers with full black bags were being pushed out of the house, and Dante's heart sank, as he knew it could only mean one thing. As they made their way to him, Dante put his hand on the first stretcher, stopping it in its tracks.

"Sir," The paramedic said.

By this time, Lady had caught up to him, and stood there as he grabbed the top of the bag and pealed in back.

To their confirmation and utter horror, Patty's cold, bloody, dead face greeted them, her terror filled eyes now permanently frozen in this permanent stare.

Lady covered her mouth as her eyes became watery. Dante simply turned and walked the other way, staring at the ground. He then paused, and felt like he was going to throw up. Numb. Cold. He familiarized this feeling with the feeling he had when he witnessed his mother's death, and when Vergil plummeted into the depths of hell. He had to endure the loss of a loved one again.

Only this time it was worse. This time, it was his fault. He knew this was in response to his actions against that group earlier, and a crushing wave of guilt that he had never felt before flowed over him. They must have been watching his every move ever since capturing him.

Devoid of any awareness, he started back to the shop as a light rain began to trickle down. Just as the weather had started out gorgeous and turned cold and dark, so had his day.

Lady got herself together before seeing Dante strolling off down the road.

"Dante!" She whelped and ran after him.

"Whoa whoa," She was stopped by a large hand. "What the fuck are you doing here?" It was the chief of police.

"What happened?" She demanded.

"Get the hell away from my crime scene."

"What the fuck happened, Carlson?" She yelled and got in his face.

"You ignorant fucking cunt, I will have you arrested right now under suspicion of a double homicide if you don't get the fuck out of here in the next ten seconds!"

Lady looked like she was about to lunge at him before Morrison, who had just stopped to see what was going on, grabbed her and rushed her away from the scene.

"Come on, Lady!" He tried to calm her down. "Just take it easy."

"Morrison…" She started once she was calm. "Patty's dead. She's really dead."

Morrison stood silent and stiff for a moment, taking in what he'd just heard, his cigarette burning away in his hand.

"Lady." He knew how close they were, and he was somewhat close with her himself. "I'm so sorry."

"… She's barely ten years old…" She choked. "Why? Why did _she_ have to die?" Her voice ached with pain.

"Where's Dante?"

"I- I don't know, he just took off after he saw Patty."

"Lady, listen to me," He took his face in her hands. "You need to find him _right now."_

He didn't elaborate any further, but it wasn't necessary. Lady knew what he meant by his how he said it, and dashed into the car to speed off after her partner.

* * *

Dante trekked through the streets like a zombie, the only thought he could muster being Patty's dead face. He had to get back to the shop, to be alone with himself to deal with this. The rain grew heavier as he drew closer to Devil May Cry, his boots carelessly stomping through large puddles on his way to the entrance. Upon opening the door, was greeted by the same bitter darkness that he now felt consumed by. He fell down into his chair, leaned forward on the desk, and attempted to crush his own skull. A very rare, but oddly familiar pain began creeping up on him. It was a pain worse than any pain he could ever physically experience. He clenched his eyes shut as he continued press in on his head. He didn't want to, but he knew it was coming. This pain would force it out of him, no matter how hard he tried to prevent it. His eyes were hot, his throat knotted.

He opened his eyes, and a trickling of tears fell down onto the desk. The pain was the same as when he saw his mother die, and when he saw Vergil fall. He glared evilly at the wet spot they left on the desk, and it sent him into a boiling rage. He shook in anger, before rising up and smashing his desk in half, grabbing one of them and heaving it into his drum set. He then grabbed his pool table and sent it up into the ceiling before destroying everything else in his office, punching holes in the walls and shattering his windows all the while. After a few minutes, he finally collapsed back into his chair, breathing heavily, blood running rapidly from his trembling hands. He ripped open the drawer from the half of the desk he didn't throw and pulled out a cigarette. He had kept it there since he quit long ago, only incase he needed it this desperately. He pulled out Ebony, fired near the end of the cigarette, and inhaled his first smoke in years. He slouched in his chair, the stick of tobacco burning in his hand, his gun dangling carelessly in the other. He sat there in a numb haze, now thinking on what he was going to do to repay Amethyst and his crew.

"Dante…"

He looked up to see Lady walking through his doors, her eyes glassy.

"Lady…"

"Listen," she started as she walked to him. "I know you're hurting. I am just as much as you, but you can't-"

"No, Lady..." He couldn't even look her in the face. "... You have no idea."

"It's not your fault, Dante. You can't blame yourself for this."

"It's too, late." He coldly replied. "I've already made my decision... They're all going to die."

"Dante, please don't do this." She knelt next to him and put her hand on his. "Don't damn yourself over them."

"I'll be damned anyways if I let them go unpunished for slaughtering a mother and child!" He stormed up and swatted his chair away as if it were a basketball, breaking it against the wall. "Especially when it's my fault!" He went for the door.

"Dante, you didn't kill Patty!"

"She's dead because of _my_ pride!"

"How would you know they'd go that far!" She grabbed him by his coat and swung him around, getting in his face. "You have no right to hold yourself responsible for this! And killing them isn't going to bring them back!"

Dante admired Lady's sternness and resolve. He realized that she had lost a friend as well, and that she was angry about it.

But she didn't feel the guilt that he did. It wasn't weighing on her heart like it was his.

He went to the back.

"Dante?"

After about a minute, he returned with a giant wad of cash and his guitar case, which now contained Ebony, Ivory, Rebellion, and the Force Edge, his most treasured possessions.

"Here." He handed Lady the cash. "There's about three grand here. Give the landlord the security deposit for that apartment uptown and get yourself situated there. I saw it had vacancies on the way to Enzo's. The guy owes me a favor. It's not gonna' be safe for you to stay here."

"Dante, I can't-"

"Take it, Lady."

She reluctantly took the money from him, knowing full well what it most likely meant.

"If you need help moving anything, call Morrison. Tell him I said to help you."

He turned for the door again, but was stopped by Lady's tight grasp around his waist.

She surprised herself with this sudden movement. But she knew the circumstances of what was going to happen, and that this could quite possibly goodbye for them. And for whatever reason, she wasn't ready for it.

The desperate look on her face indicated that, and it affirmed to Dante that she did in fact care.

This should have warmed his heart, but his heart was cold. Encased in ice after what he had to go through again.

Still, he couldn't let his bitterness hurt her, especially after this modest, but still touching display of affection.

"Lady, I'm sorry, but this is something that I have to do. I know you can understand."

He was right. Her situation had been no different the night on top of the Temin-Ni-Gru, where she shot her father dead. As much as she knew it would pain her to do it, she administered the justice that he deserved. And as much as she didn't want it to happen, knowing the ramifications, she had to admire Dante for risking even more to administer the same deserved justice.

She nodded, and looked into his eyes.

"Try to get out."

"I will."

They were locked in each other's gaze. Dante stared deeply into the captivating beauty of her mismatched orbs, taking it in, enjoying what was possibly his last moment of tranquility. After a few moments, he began to move in for a kiss, but she turned her head away.

He froze, crushed. He thought he was there. He thought he'd finally broken through her barriers. The truth was she still just wasn't quite ready yet, but that's not how Dante took it.

He still thought that no matter what, she could never accept him because of what he was, and especially now, being that she knew his intentions. He remembered back to after the fight in the library of the Temin-Ni-Gru, how she had turned away from him when he tried the same thing. Back then; he brushed it off like it was nothing. This time though, it hurt. All he wanted was that one deep moment of intimacy with her, and he was denied. After all this time, she still didn't want him.

She turned back to face him after he backed away, and she saw something in his eyes that she never had; pain. He slowly bowed his head, turned, and walked out the door.

Perplexed at first, it then hit Lady how Dante had actually taken that, and overwhelming guilt flowed over her. That wasn't what she meant by turning away from him.

"Dante!" She yelled and ran after him, but it was too late. He was already flying down the road.

The huntress fell to her knees, and a sinking feeling hit her in the stomach as she watched him drive off into the coming storm. It was the same feeling of loss when she witnessed her dead mother. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

Why was this goodbye? Why now? Why couldn't he just let it go? Why did he have to leave with the belief that she felt nothing for him? Why, now that they had finally started to become close?

She wished that it was all a bad nightmare, but it was as real and as cold as the bitter winter. She could now only pray that he could somehow escape the law enforcement that would inevitably come in an unstoppable wave, but she knew, just as he did, that it was bleak.

"Please... please make it, Dante."

**I will start off by saying that I am extremely happy with the resurgence of hetero stories that have been coming in as of late. Not just DxL, but VxL, NxK, and good-ass stories to boot. Finally, something else other than YAOI & OC. Keep up the good work!**

**I have a plethora of 1Ss cookin' up in the old cranium, but I don't have the time to write them all. I have a nice little DxL three piece that I'm thinking of, which I'll be keeping them in character as much as I possibly can (hard as fuck to pair them AND keep them in character), and it's a decently original story. I'm also sitting on a possible VxL 1S, in addition to one focusing on Vergil & Sparda. The OC parody I was doing turned out to be a piece of crap, so I discontinued that. Anyone who needs a FRAICHE idea for a 1S, let me know because I've been thinking of a shit ton.**

**Pens, you better fucking win tomorrow night. I'm not trying to have hockey season end before May. It's bad enough that I still have to watch Rashard Mendenhall fumbling the fucking football.**

**"Really, Dude, you surprise me. They're not gonna' kill shit, they're not gonna' do shit. What can they do? They're a bunch of fuckin' amateurs, and meanwhile, look at the bottom line. Who's sittin' on a million fuckin' dollars, am I wrong?"**

**PEACE!**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Beneath The Shadows_**

**_Chapter 7_**

Enzo frantically gathered what little things he needed, nearly tripping over the overturned furniture from Dante's visit as he threw them at the pile in front of his door. He'd called Ricky three times, but got no answer, which was more than enough to get him moving. He knew full well where Ricky was, or where he was headed, and wasn't trying to be within thirty miles of him, let alone the same room.

As he was about to gather up his things and head out the door, three loud knocks split the silence of his room.

"Jehovah's witnesses. Open the fucking door."

"Shit." Enzo whispered to himself as another series of knocks echoed throughout his apartment. He brushed his hair back with his hands, beads of sweat falling to the floor, and went for the door, but before he could open it, it was kicked in.

"Hey, Enzo," Rick smirked as he pushed the rest of the door out of the way, two of his men following him in. "Goin' on vacation or something?" He kicked Enzo's suitcases all across the floor.

"Hey, Rick, look..." Enzo's voice shook nervously. "I know this looks bad, but you have to believe me, I swear, I had no idea that-"

"Ten-plus years of being in the business and you don't know who you're taking jobs from? I must look like a fucking idiot to you."

"Rick, I-"

"If it's my limp, that's because I have close to a full pound of unwanted metal in my ass."

"Look, I was trying to call you. Dante told me what happened, and-"

"I could give a rats ass what Dante said to you, or to anyone else for that matter. The fact is this; my crew got damn near wiped out entirely from a sting on a job you set up. You're telling me you called, yet I've received no calls,"

"I was just cal-"

"Shut up!" Rick barked. "Then, I walk in your apartment, and I see a bunch of suitcases sitting in front of your door. So, you tell me, Enzo, how exactly am I supposed to perceive all of this?" He got in his face.

"Rick, I had no fucking idea that was going to happen!" His tone sharpened.

Ricky laughed. "You had no idea that was gonna' happen, huh?"

"What are you, fuckin' stonato?" an irritated Enzo snapped.

One of Ricky's men bashed Enzos knee with his aluminum baseball bat. He fell to his knees screaming in pain as blood trickled down his pant leg, Ricky knocking him down to the floor with a vicious right haymaker. The trio proceeded to stomp and kick the doubled over Enzo, the one with the bat taking a few swings here and there. Enzos screams of pain softened with each blow, his beaten and swollen face bleeding profusely while the rest of his body radiated with pain. They continued their brutal assault for a couple of minutes, before finally letting up.

"Get me something to drink outta' the fridge." Ricky huffed and shook his sore knuckles.

One of his men walked over to the refrigerator while he pulled out his colt 45 and its fitted silencer.

"Beer or water?"

Ricky only gave him a stupid look as he screwed the silencer onto the pistol.

"Beer it is then."

He tossed Ricky his beverage and went back over to the barely moving Enzo.

"Hold him up." Ricky said before throwing back half his beer.

They picked him up by his arms and held him up to his knees.

"Ahh," Ricky said after he finished his drink. "You do have good taste in beer, Enzo…" He said as he walked behind him. "Shame about your taste in clients."

Enzo groaned and spat out blood. "Fuck you… you fucking fanook."

Ricky and his men laughed.

"That's not very nice."

He raised his gun and blew Enzos brains out through his face. The other two dropped him in his pool of blood.

"Grab a couple more beers and let's get hell outta' here."

The same one went back to retrieve a few more beers, but had his attention drawn to something else.

"Hey,"

"What?" Rick snapped.

"... Some prosciutto and fontanelle in here."

"... Fuckin' grab that, too."

* * *

_Now next Friday come, I didn't have the rent... and out the door I went._

"So… yeee know when yee liv'nin' wessern Pehsylvainyuh… wear yur dealin wit's guh be mocely clahdy." The drunken Yinzer babbled.

After a long pause, everyone in the bar began laughing hysterically.

"Shut up and do your shot, drunk motherfucker." Eddy laughed.

The dimly lit interior of the bar complemented the cozy heat that permeated in the air. Eddy was never one to skimp out on anything, including things that most other small bars don't have, such as air conditioning. The first few days of December were showing a slow but sure transition into the cold months to come. Dark clouds gathered outside to finish off the rest of the day before it went into night, a light but chilling rain falling on and off. Cheerful chatter and drinking continued in the early evening, the five o' clock news running the recent events.

"_... have been identified as Nina and Patty Lowell, a mother and daughter who had been living in Bridgeton Heights for a little over a year. Police have reported no leads on who is responsible for the homicides, nor have they released any details that may appertain to the reason behind them. The Lowell's neighbors knew them as kind, giving people who-"_

Eddy switched over to Sports Center.

"Whoa! I was watchin' that ya' prick!" Johnny complained.

"I'm sick of the damn news. There's never anything positive. Just murder, shitty economy, corrupt politicians, traffic congestion on 31-East, and now possible sleet and freezing rain. I'd much rather see the standings for the playoffs. Month away, man."

"Yeah, well maybe I'm sick of watching sports."

"Maybe I don't give a shit about what you're sick of watching. Everyone else in the bar seems to enjoy them just fine."

The argument was interrupted by the sounds of trashcans being knocked over.

"Damn it, Jose!" Eddy yelled.

"Pregamin's underrated." The Yinzer stated.

Seconds later, Jose staggered into the bar.

"Hey, boys!" He cheerfully slurred.

"No, Jose. You're not getting served until you go back out and pick up those trashcans."

"But it's cold as shit out there."

Before Eddy could get the next word in, the door flung open again and Jose was lifted off of his feet, being carried by the back of his jacket and shirt to his bar stool.

"Dante!" Eddy said as Dante sat Jose down. "Been a minute. Little early for you to be drinkin' though, isn't it?"

"We need to talk."

Eddy paused and took a moment to realize how serious Dante was, which was something he never displayed.

"Sure. What's up?"

"I'm calling in that favor you owe me."

"Name it."

Eddy remembered the number of times Dante had saved him and his business before, and wasn't hesitant at all to oblige him. Really, he owed him a lot more than one, but Dante always told him it was working up to a collective single favor.

"I need one of your trucks for a while. Well, I might not need it, but just in case, I'm letting you know in advance.

"No problem. I got a big-ass four by four with a plow and brand new snow tires with chains."

"That'll do. Have it here tomorrow before noon."

"Sure thing, kid. "

Without responding, Dante turned and exited the bar.

"Wonder what's up his ass?" Jose said.

"My guess is pent up aggression due to repressed latent homosexuality. I mean, look at his fucking hair." Johnny said.

"That's funny coming from a man who bitches about having to watch sports." Eddy replied.

"It is funny. You can tell by how everyone in the bar is laughing." He downed his shot.

"We _are_ laughing, numb nuts." One at the far end of the bar said.

"I think something's going down." Eddy said. "He is never like that. Ever."

"So what, you sayin' we should do something?" Jose murmured.

"I'll go home and get my curb stomping boots." One sitting close by said.

"You still have those?" Another wittily replied.

"Not sayin' we should do something, but keep your heads on a swivel. If he's acting this serious then some serious shit could be going down."

"You're acting like we all won't be too drunk to realize it in about an hour."

"No Jose, that's just you. You never really realize anything through your constant haze of bourbon, Percocets and pierogi pizza. Now go pick up those fucking garbage cans before I play croquet with your balls."

* * *

"Good thing you travel light." Morrison said as he carried the small mattress up the stairs. "Be a pain in the ass if you valued material things."

His attempts to engage Lady in conversation were mostly futile. Her focus was too directed towards Dante. She wished that she knew more about where Amethyst might be. Truthfully, she wouldn't even know what to do if she did. His mind was set on doing this, and she wasn't sure if anything she could do would stop him.

"I'm surprised the landlord let you in right away. Figured there'd be paperwork."

Lady let out a quiet sigh and decided to humor him so he'd stop talking. Hopefully it wouldn't have the reverse effect.

"I tossed him a few extra bones to let me in early." She said as she set the last of her things on the counter top. "Only problem is the air conditioning's shot."

"That'll be nice and warm for ya'." His sarcasm was far too excessive. "Good thing this storm's right on time to make it even better."

"I'm leaving anyways." She gathered up her holsters, ammo and guns. "Trish called and said she has an idea of where he'll be. She should be here any minute."

"She'd better."

"She will." She looked over to the small television set on the small stand in her room. "Where'd you get the TV?"

"That's the one Dante gave me. Finally got it fixed for him, but figured I might as well give it to you now."

"What does _that _mean?" Lady's tone turned aggressively sharp as she stared at him.

"Nothing, just-"

"You think he's not gonna' make it?" She took a few steps towards him.

"Lady, I didn't say that. I just meant about his place. I mean, there's two groups that'll be gunnin' for _it_ next."

Lady calmed down and unclenched the fist that she unknowingly made in her temper.

"But honestly, I'd be hard pressed to say I didn't think his odds are about fifty-fifty."

Lady's eyes shot back up to him.

"These guys he's going after aren't boy scouts, they know their shit. And the cops have been waiting for a reason to-"

"Fuck the cops." Lady put her guns in their holsters, grabbed Kalinna Ann off the table and headed down the stairs. Morrison sighed and hastily followed her out.

"Look, Lady," He started as he locked the door behind him. "What do you expect to do even if you find him?"

"Keys." She put out her hand. He tossed them to her.

"The only thing you're gonna' do is get yourself hurt or worse."

"If you're scared, then go home."

"I'm not scared, I'm being realistic." He lit up a cigarette.

"So am I." She turned to see Trish pulling up in her black sedan. "Alright, where is he?" She demanded as the blonde she-devil exited her car.

"Relax." She replied as she took off her shades. "I went down to his storage unit in Carson but I think he was already there."

She had expected him to go there to store his possessions and gather up some old free-fire equipment.

"So where is he now?" Morrison asked.

"My guess would be the Alriolto building. We've been staking it out for a little while now but we haven't gotten anything. Maybe he'll try looking again."

"Sounds like our best bet." Lady said.

"One other thing..."

They looked at Trish.

"I dropped by Enzo's to see if he knew anything..."

"...And?" And irritated and impatient Lady asked.

"Someone worked him over pretty good before putting a bullet in the back of his head."

"What?" Morrison said, bewildered.

"Chalk one up for Ricky." Lady said.

"Nasty Ricky?" Morrison asked. "Why would he-

"Because Enzo's a fucking idiot. I'm not worrying about that right now." She threw Kalinna Ann in the back of Trish's car.

"Lady, you need to calm down before you have a heart attack."

"You be calm." She got in the car.

Trish rolled her eyes, and looked at Morrison.

"You comin' or what?"

He huffed, and got in the back seat.

* * *

Dante stood statuesque atop the roof of the hotel at the opposite end of the Alriolto Building, his hair and jacket blowing in the wind. His weaponry now consisted of a shotgun, an Uzi, and a pair of long blades that he traded Rebellion, Ebony and Ivory in for at his storage garage. He wasn't too keen on the idea of the police getting a hold of those. But even more important to him than that was not letting those treasured weapons he had used so many times be tarnished with the blood of humans. His eyes never left the exit of the subterranean garage. No cars had left in the twenty or so minutes he'd been standing atop the building, the cold rain not detracting his attention at all.

As he waited, he began to visualize what he was going to do when he found them. Just as he had destroyed hundreds, if not thousands of demon hordes, he would go through these trappers like an unstoppable wave. There wasn't any particular desire on his part to make them endure a slow, painful death. His only intention was to make sure that he got every single one of them. If they happened to suffer, that was just icing on the cake.

He didn't give much thought to how he'd feel about it afterwards. The only thing he felt now was rage, and utter disgust that anyone could do what they did to a mother and child. That overpowered any future feelings he could simulate in his mind.

On the other side of the building, Lady, Trish and Morrison were pulling up to the top of the parking garage.

"Damn, I figured he'd be here." Trish said as she pulled forward to the ledge.

"Maybe he is." Morrison said.

"Did you two stake out at any other roof tops?" Lady asked.

"No, just here."

Lady got out and went over to the ledge. She looked around for a few moments, and then turned after seeing nothing. Then, she turned back around after hearing a noise.

Dante had just dropped down to a lower rooftop after seeing a car leaving the garage. He focused his vision, and looked in closely.

"Bingo."

That was his guy. After it got down the road a ways, he leaped back up to the other roof and began following the car, free running and making it look effortless as he did it.

"There he is!" Lady said. She bolted up a ladder to another level and began running the rooftops herself.

"Lady!" Trish yelled after her. "Fuck." She turned and got back in the car with Morrison.

"Gotta' love her impulsive decision making abilities." Morrison joked as Trish peeled out of the garage, nearly crashing as she went down each level.

Lady hastily followed Dante, trying to keep parallel with him. The rooftops she was on weren't keeping even with him though, and despite how fast she was moving, she had to drop back down to the street. She could now only move in the direction she thought Dante was going. As she cursed under her breath for losing him while she ran down the street, a large demon leaped from an alley and knock Lady off the road and into the back parking lot of a restaurant.

"Finally, we get rid of the famed demon huntress." It growled as other surrounded Lady. She then realized that she had left Kalinna Ann in Trish's car, and quickly withdrew her guns to defend herself. She hadn't had a run in with any demons for almost a week now, and was somewhat surprised that they suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and in this large of a group.

She opened fire on the demon that hit her, dropping it with all shots to the face. The others came in to strike, but she rolled out of the way, placing more shots on all of them while she moved to the open. Her routine maneuvers made it easy for her to avoid damage as she aimed for the heads of her prey. She took them down with ease until one struck her on her shoulder, leaving a nice sized gash and knocking her to the ground. The demon grinned over Lady, drool dripping from its mouth as it prepared for the final strike. As it rose up its claw, she delivered a harsh kick to the groin, making the demon keel over so she could easily blow its head off with her duel guns. She avoided the spilling blood and got back to her feet, brushing all of the dirt off her shoulders.

"This is why you wait for us." She heard Trish's voice.

"Not like I couldn't handle it." She boasted.

"And without your favorite weapon. You're getting good at this, Lady."

"I've always been good. Now I'm shooting for great." She smirked.

"Is your arm alright?" Morrison asked.

"Yeah." She hadn't noticed the pain until he mentioned it.

"Well, come on. All we can do now is keep looking." Trish said.

They all gathered back into her car.

* * *

He had followed him the whole way there. It was a simple inner-city building, eight stories tall with a subterranean parking garage of it's own on the far side of town. He dropped down from the roof of the small building he had ended his trail on and dashed into the garage behind the car, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season on the street on the other side of the building, the cold rain still coming down, progressively harder with every passing minute.

The driver couldn't even fully exit the car before Dante grabbed him by his jacket and threw him against the wall like a rag doll. Upon struggling to his feet, his head was caved into the wall by Dante's fist, leaving a splattered stain and a lifeless corpse.

It was done. He'd already killed one. Now, there was nothing more to think about.

He went for the elevator door, but noticed that there was a lock – a retinal scanner.

He walked back to the body, picked an eye out from the mushy remains of his skull, and placed it in front of the scanner.

It scanned the eye, and after a brief tone, read, "Identification confirmed. Stanley Evers."

Dante flicked the eyeball away and entered the elevator.

"So, did they say that they were gonna' meet us there?" Amethyst asked, he and his associates sitting at the table in the fifth story office room.

"Yeah, one week."

They were all mostly silent, uncomfortable with what they had just done.

"If anyone has a fucking problem with what happened, speak up." He was getting irritated.

They all just moved around a little.

"It had to be done... We needed to show this asshole who's in charge of this town."

They nodded. He took a drink from his scotch.

"Alright, I want at least three bagged for then. We can make some serious bank on this one."

"They said they're gonna' need some of our tranquilizer to keep them sedated."

"How the hell don't they have any of-

The conversation was interrupted by a few gunshots and brief screams of pain.

"... The hell was that?"

Amethyst and his men sat up as the elevator crept up to their floor.

The elevator doors opened, and so did their fire. After a short spray of bullets, they saw one of their men fall to the ground.

They weren't aware that he was being held up by the hair by Dante, who had managed to stick himself up on the ceiling corners of the elevator.

"Fuck."

"... Well I'm sure as shit not dragging him out of there." Amethyst scoffed.

Two of them cautiously walked over to the elevator to drag out the corpse. Before they could enter, two blades were plunged into their chests by a suspended Dante.

The hybrid flipped down, and upon landing, forcefully threw each blade, on landing through the jugular of a seated man, the next going through the chest of another who was getting up from his seat. He then took his machine guns and began firing throughout the room. Blood sprayed everywhere as Amethyst hit the deck, crawling under the table, scared out of his mind.

Subconsciously, he knew that this would happen. Although he had received his "guarantees", he still figured he couldn't push Dante this far, but he went through with it anyway. Now, he was reaping what he sewed. It was one thing to kidnap and even try to kill Dante - he could deal with that. But to murder and innocent child, for no other reason than to one-up him, wasn't something that Dante would just take with a grain of salt. Despite knowing full well of the repercussions, both now and later, if there would even be a later, Dante was going to go through with this.

The bodies of his guards fell around him as he crawled towards the elevator, blood and guts spilling all over the room. Dante's mindless rage was consuming everyone as the bullets from those still standing pelted him, phasing him in no way. He caught Amethyst going into the elevator out of the corner of his eye, and fired the last shots of the clip, getting him in the leg before the doors closed. He went over to the doors to retrieve the two blades from the chests of their two victims, and began cutting a fierce path through the remaining soldiers, adding to the fresh crimson paint job he was giving the room. Amputated limbs and heads laid scattered across the floor like a human slaughter house, a few of the men still barely alive, crawling through pools of their own blood in agonizing pain, which Dante was relishing in. Those who were still alive had the distinction of Dante's boot crushing their skulls into the ground as he passed each of them until the room was almost completely motionless save for him and the swinging light that was flickering on and off. He saw one crawling over to the corner of the room, shaking uncontrollably. Dante approached his cornered prey, and withdrew the nine-millimeter he'd brought with him. He raised it slowly.

"Please!" The man pleaded. "I-I have kids! Little kids!"

In one ear and out the other. Dante unloaded on him, an evil snarl on his face. His attention then turned to the last one alive in the room, who was pounding on the elevator door, praying that it would come back up. No such luck.

The elevator descended as Amethyst writhed in pain, getting back to his feet by the time the doors opened. He staggered out and limped his way onto the busy streets. People gasped as they saw him soaked in the blood of his soldiers.

"Oh my God, sir, are you okay?" A woman near him asked.

He didn't answer as he tried to get away from the building. The chatter of the people looking at him was interrupted when they heard the sound of breaking glass, which was followed by the sound of a man screaming as he fell to his death. His body crashed into a car, and everyone started to run and yell in panic.

Dante dropped from the fifth story window that he had just tossed his victim out of, landing perfectly on his feet. He walked slowly towards his Amethyst like a predator as the people scattered, all going off to the sides as Amethyst tried desperately to get away. They knew Dante by reputation, and none of them had the nuts to even look at him cross. He took his good old time, savoring the fear that this murdering piece of shit was in. He had just struggled back to his feet when Dante grabbed him by his hair, walked him over a few feet, and slammed his face into a brick wall three times, sending him back down to the ground. He then mounted him, and began landing hay-makers down upon his face until his hand was soaked in blood and Amethysts face was entirely re-arranged, a steady stream of arterial red flowing from every hole in his head.

His motionless prey was hardly breathing as he reached to Amethysts holster to take out his .44-Magnum.

He opened the revolver to see two bullets missing from the chamber. The blood boiled in his veins as they nearly burst out of his skin, his eyes glowing a demonic red, as he knew where those two missing bullets went.

Nearly breaking the gun with his grip, he spun the chamber back in. Lost in his rage, he grabbed him by his hair, pulled his head up, and shoved the barrel into his eye.

Amethyst let out a deafening howl of pain from his bloody mouth before Dante silenced it with the squeeze of the trigger, sending an unpleasant splash of blood, brains and skull all over his upper body and face.

Everyone screamed in horror as he ran the blood off of his face through his hair, turning it a shade of dirty pink as he rose up, more blood and other bodily particulates dripping and falling off of him. He looked around to see sick looks on people's faces, some crying, and some even vomiting.

"You damned devil!" One yelled.

As he stood there, Dante's mind went in a thousand different directions. What he had just done... what he had just made these people bare witness to... he felt like whatever goodness lingering in his being had vanished. Washed away in this river of arterial red, along with any hopes of salvation. No matter how much they may have deserved it, it was still forbidden. All the work he had put in; the years of blood and sweat, of intense pain, of barely making ends meet just to protect those who now stood before and condemned him, just so he may have had a chance to see his mother... gone up in a cloud of smoke. And the worse part of it all was that he felt better in absolutely no way shape or form. In fact, the pain was now only worse.

Just then, a moving flash of red blue and white caught everyone's eye as a convoy of police cars came screeching up the street, halting to a stop in the streets once reaching Dante.

"Police! Freeze, you son of a bitch!" One ordered after exiting his car.

The hybrid dashed away as bullets pelted him from almost every angle. He made it into an alleyway, but it didn't matter. Squad cars were flying at him in the narrow corridor of the back alley, knocking over old trashcans and whatever else just so happened to be in their way. It was almost as if they had been lying in wait for this to happen, waiting for the moment so they could pounce. He got rid of his cape and began fumbling with the buckles on his vest as he moved through the alleys, switching directions as soon as one got close. But he was running out of directions, for more and more cars were making their way towards him. He was able to move a bit faster after losing his vest, but that may have proven to be a bad idea. He found himself in an alley with no other exit than the entrance, which the car following him had closed off, and the exit at the far end, which was blocked by a row of coming cars. He ran to the middle, then halted and waited for the cars to catch up. Right before they converged to sandwich him, he leapt into the air, the cars violently crashing into each other, resulting in a messy fender bender parade behind the car he had landed on. He looked up and saw a ladder that lead up to a set of stairs outside the windows of the apartment buildings. He jumped up to it, feet landing on the sixth rung up. He began climbing, but as he extended his right arm to reach up for another rung, one of the cops placed a perfect shotgun blast right in his ribs. The wind completely knocked out of him, he lost his grip and began falling back down. He attempted to grab the right side of the ladder, but his hand instead caught a nearly broken off piece of jagged metal, and he continued to fall, the flesh ripping off his hand in a perfect line. He took a sharp breath and gritted his teeth right before catching the last rung with his left hand, a thick string of skin hanging from the sharp metal, still connected to his hand. Had the cop been any closer, the shot would have been much worse. Blood ran down his right arm and from the wound in his side, a wave of bullets pelting him as he somehow managed to avoid another devastating shotgun blast by flipping back up. The 9mm rounds were hitting every part of him, his shirt literally shot off of his back until it was a pile of rags. He continued to take the punishment as he scaled the ladder and began moving up the stairs to the roof. By the time he was up there, he needed to catch his breath. The storm had just started coming in strong, a strong wind chilling the air, freezing rain forming little patches of ice on his bare back and shoulders as he crouched over. The individual stings of pain from all of the bullet holes hit him at once, and he had to keep moving so he could ignore them. A helicopter came over the building and began chasing him over the rooftops, a heavy machine gun firing rounds from the open door.

"Damn, these fuckers aren't kiddin' around."

He said out loud to keep himself focused. He was starting to feel a bit woozy. For whatever reason, his wounds weren't healing as quickly as they should have. Some weren't healing at all, and he could feel himself shivering slightly as he moved quickly through the cutting wind, it along with the rain seemingly getting colder every second.

A few of the bullets began hitting Dante, and he felt all forty-one millimeters worth of difference in each one as opposed to the pistol rounds. He tasted blood in his mouth as he neared the end of available roof, the large rounds piercing his skin and taking their collective toll on him. He started to leap for another roof, but as he was pushing off to jump, one bullet caught him in the knee, and he made a feeble attempt at a jump and fell about five stories down to solid pavement in another back alley, an electric-shock-like pain hitting him as he thumped off the ground. He had to ignore it as well as all of the other pain he had just endured, knowing that he had to get away from the helicopter. After laying there a few seconds to recover, he pulled a nearby dumpster over and dumped out all of the trash, then kicked in a door of the next building. The helicopter passed, and from its view, it looked as if he was buried beneath the trash.

"Sky unit two to all units, suspect is down in an alley between 38th and Bradley."

"Copy that sky unit two. All units to 38th and Bradley."

He had escaped their grasp much more easily than he expected, but he wasn't in a good way. He was losing blood and consciousness fast, and once back outside, the cold continued to pierce him like a thousand needles. The rain was freezing to his skin as a haze made its way over his vision. All he could think to do now was to get to the apartment building. He just kept moving into the dark.

* * *

She slipped on the last of her clean wardrobe after exiting the shower. She had only been home for fifteen minutes and was already watching the news with nerve-wracking anxiety. They had been out for hours and had no luck in finding him, and she knew what had happened by listening in on the radio. Trish and Morrison had both gone back home, but she felt guilty about not continuing to look for him. But the weather had turned brutal and she couldn't stay out on foot by herself. It was cold enough in her apartment.

Her focus on the TV was cut by three knocks on her door. She picked up her pistol and headed downstairs to open the door. She looked out through the peephole, but saw nothing. She hesitantly opened the door, and then looked down to see her partner curled up in a bloody freezing ball.

"Dante!"

Dante had practically drug him self the last mile and a half to her apartment, and had collapsed after pounding on the door. He was bleeding profusely from all over, hyperventilating, and shivering uncontrollably, a far away, glassy look in his eyes. Lady grabbed him by the wrists and dragged him upstairs into the bathroom, a trail of blood left on the staircase and in the living room. He was as white as a ghost.

"Dante," She said in a commanding tone. "Dante, look at me," She pulled his face up to meet his eyes. "You have to control your breathing. Control your breathing." She took his pants off to separate him from the soaking wet cloth.

She could tell that he was desperately trying to obey her, but he was near hypothermia, and ultimately death. She remembered that demons did regenerate blood at an excessive rate, which was why it was so hard to kill them without targeting their heads, unless of course Dante's Tear Them Limb From Limb method was applied. But she knew that they could only regenerate blood so long as their bodies remained at a certain temperature. With the combination of the freezing weather, the blood loss, and the overall exhaustion, he was closer to death than he had been in a long time. She went to turn on the shower, but the water was freezing. She knew it would take a while for the water to get warm after her shower. She could only think of one thing to try to get him warm; insulation. She straddled his hips, unbuttoned her blood-stained blouse, and pressed herself down on his bare chest. It took her breath away for a second when her flesh touched his. She'd never felt another person that cold before. She rested her legs on his, her upper body getting colder with each second.

"Dante, stay with me." She demanded. "Control your breathing." She was trying not to shiver herself.

Her plan was starting to work. His breathing was finally starting to slow, and his shivering became much less intense. Blood was still spilling all over the floor, but his wounds were starting to heal as his temperature rose.

His vision was starting to return, everything coming back into focus. He looked to Lady, whose head lay over his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat that was steadying slowly. Her arms were resting on his as her hands rubbed his shoulders, all of the additional friction from her movement effectively adding heat to his body. After a few minutes of this, and keeping him alert with her continuous orders, he finally started to come back around.

Lady checked the shower water and it had warmed up again. She let it get going and pulled Dante up.

"Dante, you have to get in here. Come on."

Although he still felt very weak and depleted, he managed to support himself and start moving slowly on his own.

Lady's attention was drawn to the sounds of sirens outside. She shut the door and went over to the window to check out what was going on.

Dante, holding on to the rail of the shower curtain, kicked his soggy boxers off and almost fell into the shower. The hot water that would sear most only felt like slight warmth on Dante as he gladly welcomed the heat. He got to his feet after a minute and leaned against the wall under the showerhead, letting the water do it's job. His grogginess began to dissipate, but he still felt exhausted. He knew he'd made the right decision going to Lady. She was always hands-on. He was very pleased with how Lady did what she did without hesitation or thought. She had become even more rock-solid as time had gone on. She was an outstanding partner.

After about five minutes of warmth, the water began to turn cold again, and he quickly exited the shower, wasting no time in scooping up one of the three towels Lady had brought with her. He hastily dried himself, and then wrapped the towel around his waist. As he came back into the living room, the fatigue hit him again, and he began to stagger a bit, catching himself before falling. Lady looked over from the window and made her way back to him.

"Here Dante, lay down on the bed." She guided him to the mattress where he fell face first onto its soft comfort. He began shivering again though due to the cold air. Lady got on his hips again and began scratching his back.

"Ughhhhhhhhh..." He instantly began grunting. He purred as her nails did wonders on his flesh, making his entire body tense and giving him goose bumps all over, his left leg shaking like a dogs. It was working wonderfully for the cold, too. "Up a little."

She smiled at his request, and moved her hands up. He groaned some more as she continued to work her magic on him, and after a while of making him toss and turn, he fell asleep under her touch. She stroked his hair over his ear as he began snoring lightly.

She got up from him and went back over to the window to keep watch, the freezing rain still coming down in buckets.

* * *

"How the hell could we lose him!" The chief of police said, knocking a penholder off his desk.

"The pilot thought he was under the trash, I don't know."

"Yeah, good thing that doesn't fucking defy physics."

"I know this night's turned into a cluster fuck, but-"

"No, it stopped being a cluster fuck around quarter after ten. It's now a full blown cluster orgy."

"What do you want us to do?"

"... I want you to get reports of every hotel check-in and every apartment vacancy filled in the last twenty-four hours. I want Special Weapons And Tactics ready to go. I want blockades at every toll booth leading out on to the interstate and I want squad cars roaming all over the city." He sat back down in his chair. "I've waited years to nail this prick, I'm not missing my chance."

"We're on it... And... What about the guys Amethyst was sellin' the-"

"That's not our concern, James."

"But sir, they said that-"

"James." He stared at him. "That is not our concern."

After a brief pause, he nodded, and exited the office.

The chief was still satisfied with the result of his twisted plan. Manipulation was something he excelled at. And the best part was, he didn't have to lift a finger. But he wanted Dante, dead or alive.

* * *

Dante laid there in an exhausted near-trance, the entire night replaying in his head. Had he really done what he had, or was it all just a bad dream?

Unfortunately, it wasn't. He had done the one thing that would alienate him from the rest of humanity, and from heaven. But perhaps that was never an option in the first place for him. Because of what his father was, he thought maybe he never even had a chance for salvation. If he did, it was now a mere afterthought as the gruesome images kept flashing in his mind, a regressing and rising hallucinatory, yet euphonious sound replaying itself with the images.

He figured he had finally found his devil, as they say. Perhaps it was never a question of if, but when. Just like Vergil, he had succumbed to his inner evil's influence. Nothing about his actions made the pain about Patty go away, and he began to wonder if he really even did it for her, or if it was just an excuse to feed his unavoidable thirst for human death. It was, after all, in a demons nature.

Maybe he wasn't evil, though. Perhaps it was humanity that was evil. Corrupt. Maybe the demons were here to cleanse the Earth of those who were rotten, who shifted humanity into doing what you could to help others to doing what you could to see to it that you succeeded, no matter the amount or severity of the detriment to others.

Six on one, half a dozen the other. Either way, his life was completely altered. He would be on the run for a long time, if not forever.

His mother's voice made it's way into his delirium, words from long ago, a better, care-free time when there was no worry about matters of this sort, and demons didn't even exist to him. If ever he had his innocence, it was then. The words began to take him back to when she would read to him. It was a long novel, not one that he could remember the name of. He remembered that she never read him or Vergil children's books, only long novels from her own collection. One he remembered distinctly was The Thorn Birds, mainly because of the overwhelming length of the story and how interested he had become in it.

But he couldn't remember what _this_ books name was. He saw a dashing and leaping black rabbit, and a great bright burning sun that was more an entity than a star, an ancient text surrounded by an aura. Despite his inability to recall the title, there was one passage from the beginning of the book that he would never forget, as his mothers soothing voice spoke it in his mind. It was a perfect reflection of the consequences of his actions.

_All the world will be your enemy... prince with a thousand enemies... and when they catch you... they will kill you... but first... they must catch you... Be cunning, and full of tricks... and your people will never be destroyed._

Dante opened his eyes and felt like he dropped down as if he were floating. The flickering light from the near-silent television set illuminated the room as he shook the cobwebs from his brief nap. The room was bitter cold, but he'd finally gotten his body temperature back up to normal, his wounds now fully healed. His immediate attention went to Lady. He looked right; nothing. He looked left; and there she was, standing at the window, guns in hand, still looking outside and listening for any cops. He wondered just how long he'd been asleep and how long she'd been standing there, and look over to see that the alarm clock read 2:14. Almost three hours.

She let out a tired yawn, and then closed the curtains of the window. Dante watched her closely as she walked back into the bathroom, which she had already cleaned. He never minded watching her walk from behind. She always moved so sexy. But this time, it wasn't just that. It was that in combination of who she was to him, and what she had did for him, and everything he had done for her and what they had done for each other. They weren't just partners. They were friends. But he wanted it to be more, now more than ever.

He watched her take off her blouse, revealing her toned back and her gash from her encounter with the demons earlier. She took out a rag and rubbing alcohol, and after swabbing the piece of cloth, patted her shoulder. She took in a sharp breath as she treated her wound. His inner fire began heating up again. He'd forgotten about amidst his recent actions. But now, it was intensified by what he was truly feeling for her, without his raging hormones.

Staring at her a while longer, he became mesmerized. She was a warrior wrapped in absolute beauty. Tough as nails, yet so gorgeous. At that precise moment, as he watched her standing there, exhausted, sore... beautiful... he had to have her. He never wanted anything in his life more than her. Mind body and spirit, there was no other way to describe her than perfect.

Dante got up, walked to the cracked door, and slammed it open. Lady jumped, quickly turning around to see Dante staring deeply into her eyes, his chest heaving.

"Dante?" She batted her eyes.

He walked to her slowly, placing his arm on the wall past her head. She stared up into his icy eyes, as there was now barely a fragment of distance between them. They were locked in a transfixing gaze that rendered them unable to move or think. She was seeing something in Dante's eyes that she never had before. Something human, something of need. His heart racing, Dante knew what he wanted to do next, but was hesitant. He didn't want the same result as the previous two attempts, but that wouldn't stop him. Nearly pinning her against the wall, the hybrid once again moved in for a kiss. He came in slowly, breathing unsteadily, closing his eyes as he neared her lips. With no train of thought, Lady began to do the same, moving forward herself, the short space between their hot breaths shrinking with each second. But abruptly, right as they were about to touch, Lady slowly tilted her head away. This time though, not a moment went by before Dante's hand pulled her back to him, and he planted his lips on hers and gave her a soft, tender kiss. He pulled away and looked into her now glassy eyes, her mouth hanging open in awe.

They were once again frozen in each other's eyes, unable to breath. Both were in a state of sensation as they stood there for a few more moments that felt like an eternity. Lady grabbed Dante by his face and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. They closed their eyes as they devoured one another's tongues, their bodies pressing up against each other. They caressed each other's cheeks while they created liquid heat inside of their mouths, both of their faces searing hot despite the cold air of the apartment. Their hearts raced as they tasted each other, as they took each other in.

Dante was completely ecstatic that this was finally happening. It wasn't so much that it was beyond belief at this point, but it couldn't have come at a better time. And Lady knew it. She knew that after being consumed by everything with Patty and the trappers that he wasn't doing this now just to get in her pants. He needed this. Care, affection... love. It would counteract all of the pain and rage he had carried, not just from what had happened, but also with everything that had happened in his life. He'd lost all that he had cared for, all while he continued the endless task of exterminating evil, protecting those who now condemned him, and bearing the curse of being what many would consider to be an abomination of life. She could make it all go away, and she knew deep down that he wanted none other than her to do it.

But she couldn't kid herself that she didn't need it as well. After walling herself away from him for so long, she was surprised that he didn't give up on her. But he was patient, and she couldn't keep herself in endless solitude. As much as she hated to admit it, she did so because of her own insecurities. Everyone she had ever cared for had died, and her father's betrayal was enough to damage her ability to trust and feel close with someone else. Their similarities far exceeded any differences, she was now realizing. But she also didn't want to give into Dante in particular because he wanted her to so badly, and she felt doing so would be weak. But she was tired of fighting it anymore. She had wanted him for as long as he did her, and it had been too long. What was so wrong with being happy?

In a world where most of what they dealt with was in absolute darkness, they were finally bringing love back to each other.

They continued their passionate kissing as he ran his hands slowly up and down her arms. As caressed her smooth skin, she shyly covered a scar on her right arm. Dante knew she hated her scars, but to him, it only added to her beauty. No other woman on the planet could hold them with the courage she did, and she was completely undaunted in knowing she would gain more in the task she had willingly committed herself to. He took her wrist to reveal her scar, and bent his head to kiss it softly. If she was blushing before, her face was molten lava now.

She began to think about her time with him over the past years. She'd only ever thought of him as an immature dope, incapable of any serious emotion. But this subtle, yet intensively deep gesture by him erased those memories. This is what she had been missing out on all this time - these little things he did, in conjunction with all of the other bigger things. After being saved by him so many times, she was glad to finally do it for him. She had saved his life, and this made him truly realize just how much she meant to him. Not only that, it made her realize how much he meant to her. Neither could ever really imagine being without one another after the last few years. Countless missions, trips to the bar after said missions, games of cards... shared moments of anguish. They were the only ones they had each cried in front of aside from their immediate families. They had both lost those families, and had come to the sad realization that they really had nobody else. Trish and Morrison's companionship was fine, but the only one left they really cared about was Patty. She was the only thing they had to look forward to, seeing her grow up before their eyes like she was a little sister. They truly did need each other.

She curled her leg around his and began running her hands all over his back and chest. He went underneath her skirt to caress her thigh and shapely hip while his free hand pinned her wrists to the wall above her head, his tongue routinely moving from her mouth to her neck. She moaned and gritted her teeth as he suck and nipped lightly on her sensitive flesh, burning even hotter than before, same as his. They were slowly covering themselves in sweat as Dante moved in closer, pushing his forehead against her cheek as he moved up to swallow her taste again. Their massaging tongues slammed against each other, their hot breaths meeting in this cloud of lust. The intensity they were giving to one another made every single movement send shock waves to the other. She bit his lip as he ground up on her, pushing his chest against her heaving breasts. This was another jolt of adrenaline to his system, but that irritating piece of clothe was still in his way. He came up from kissing the crook of her neck as she tugged on his ear, which her bight had moved to. He loved how aggressive she already was. After another short kiss, he stared into her eyes, and then looked down at her chest. He released her arms, and she wasted no time in moving her hands around her back to free herself of her bondage. Dante wasn't going to pretend he had the patience to try to do it him self. He placed more kisses on the nape of her neck, sucking and licking in circles while she gasped, pausing in her efforts to remove her pesky bra. Her erect nipples made it even more irritating for her plump breasts to be trapped inside of it. She nearly lost all focus when he moved his hands to massage her stomach, gently rubbing her flat toned abdomen, sending more electricity through her body as his hot breath tickled her ear while he licked it lightly. She successfully unhooked her bra, and then wrapped her arms around Dante's waist, pulling him in closer. He softly ran his hands up her slender sides to her breasts, where he groped them over the fabric of her black bra, which still had yet to be removed. He gave them another squeeze while pushing them up, Lady letting out pleased breaths as she moved to kiss and suck his chest, pulling his nipples with her teeth whenever she came across them while her hands went all over his muscular arms and upper back. He began rubbing her upper arms and shoulders, slowly moving closer and closer to her bra straps. Once his hands paused over them, she looked up into his eyes, his panting making her blush, which in turn made him blush. Their hot faces met again for another sopping wet kiss, arms wrapped around each other. His hands went up her back once more before going back to the straps, sensually sliding them off her smooth shoulders. It dropped off of her after a small tug, revealing her large, firm tits topped by the cutest little erect nipples he'd ever seen. He stared at them like he'd never seen a pair before. He looked up to her for some sense of permission before going back down to bury his face in her hills, squeezing and sucking on them wildly. This felt surprisingly good to Lady, who had put her arms back up above her head. He rubbed her nipples with his thumbs as he continued to grope, licking the milky flesh of her breasts that his hands were much, much more than full of. After a few continuous minutes of this, Lady was sweating something fierce, and he wasn't far behind. Then, without warning, she yanked on his towel, causing it to fall down around his ankles. His erection poked her in the stomach as he went wide-eyed. She looked down at his enormous rigid manhood, which was now keeping the rest of their bodies apart. She then grabbed it, bent it up, and pulled him into her again, making him gasp at the mix of sensation and slight pain, which was actually better to him than the sensation. He had always imagined that Lady liked it rough. Her free hand went around to squeeze his ass while she jerked him up once, forcing a bead of pre-cum to the surface of his swollen tip, making him look up to the ceiling again, the smile on his face even bigger this time. She began stroking the bottom half of his shaft with both hands while she deep throated the top half, licking circles around its swollen head as she sucked away at him. He looked up and closed his eyes as he gripped her raven hair, going with her as her head bobbed in and out. He was surprised at how horny she was and how eager she was to not only take it slow, but also be kinky and sexy while they did. She understood that this was their first time, and that it would be a while before they would do it again if ever, so she was going to do her part in making this as unimaginable as possible. Her mouth was sending him to the highest point of euphoria he could feel, his legs shaking underneath him while he leaned forward on the wall for support. She was on her knees facing straight forward while she kept forcing it in and out, still stroking it while he became fully erect. She kept doing wonders on him with her lips and tongue, making him near his climax while she squeezed his leg, before going back up to his ass. She then began fondling his spurs, and his orgasm began coming on very strong.

Not wanting to waist the first one this quickly, Dante grabbed her under her arms and pulled her back up, then around the waist to pull her back into the living room, throwing her down on the bed and landing on her not a second after. He reinserted his tongue into her mouth, still massaging her breasts. She grabbed another fist full of hair as his hands then went down her sides while his tongue went down her front, stopping to insert it into her naval to tease it for a moment. He then placed his hands on her thick, creamy white thighs, and greedily groped them, making her smile seductively. She loved how he loved her body. Plenty of men had drooled over her, but he was the only one who had ever made her feel sexy, no matter how immature she thought his stupid ways of doing it in the past were. But now, it was something much more to her liking. His busy hands moved up to squeeze her firm bubble butt, kneading her cheeks underneath her skirt as he removed it with his teeth, Her skimpy black thong was all that stood between him and what he had been fantasizing about for years. Her untouched glory, which was about to be all his. He ran his hands up her round hips, then gripped the inside of the soft cloth, not wasting any time to free her from it. He slid it down her legs and off of her ankles, tossing it in the corner, leaving them both completely bare in the frigid room, which their body heat and sweat was now permeating in. Lady shyly pushed her thighs together, not wanting to reveal herself to Dante. He went up to her and took her face in his hands, making their eyes meet again.

"Lady," He said through fast breaths, taking a swallow before continuing. She could tell he was almost as nervous as she was. "I want you to to just enjoy this." He kissed her lightly. "Forget everything... and let yourself have this."

He began sucking on her neck again before submerging back down to her waist, leaving another trail of hot kisses along her body on the way down while he groped her tits some more. Then, he started rubbing circles around her waist, progressively going lower and lower, making her arch her back from the jolting pleasure. He then started to kiss and suck those same areas in the same sequence, forcing a few low moans out of her as he parted her thighs, revealing her magnificence. She felt perverted being in this position right in front of him, but she didn't care anymore. She wanted it so bad she could hardly stand to wait another second. He kept her legs pushed apart, rubbing the insides of her thighs as his face neared his craving. His burning desire for this was flaring up like it never had before. Perhaps it was because he was getting something other than just sex from this. Nevertheless, he moved closer and closer to her perfectly shaven virginity, which was intoxicating him with it's wonderful scent, already wet in anticipation for what was to come. She gripped his hair again as he started, slowly licking her clit, causing her to yelp in sensation as her body shook, Dante smiling at how intensely she reacted to this subtle motion. He began licking it at a constant pace, causing her to thrash about on the bed, covering her mouth so as not to wake the neighbors with her cries. He then began sucking at it while he dipped two of his fingers into her nearly air tight pussy, almost having difficulty moving them around at all inside of her leaking cavern as a loud moan escaped through her fingers, making her heart jump in worry. After a few moments of sucking and licking her clit, he nipped at it lightly before removing his pumping fingers to insert his tongue. It had a little more success in movement as he pushed it in deeply, licking every square inch of her walls that he could, tasting her as she began leaking into him even more. She gripped the sheets tightly while he started going in circles inside of her, pushing all the way to her most sensitive spot, forcing her orgasm to start it's approach.

"Oh, Dante..." She moaned out in anticipation.

He began licking it wildly while he quickly stroked her clit, forcing her to cover her face with a pillow as she screamed into it. After a few moments, she was sending a stream of sticky hot cum into his mouth, which he sopped up and took all in, letting out a loud, "Mmmmmm." as she continued to yell into the pillow. He removed himself from her once he finished, his mouth wet with her essence as he came back up to her.

"Ready?" He said after a short series of kisses. She only responded with a nod, still unable to move after what he had just did to her.

He lifted her leg up onto his hip as he adjusted himself. Her wet, swollen pussy was awaiting his massive manhood, and he moved up on her, and slowly inserted it into her opening. She gasped in shock, pain and pleasure, as he broke her hymen, stopping as she let out a moan with the sound of all three emotions. His cock suffocated inside of her as he pulled some of it back out to see it covered with a bit of blood.

"You okay?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Y-yes." She breathed out. "Come on." She bit her lower lip, making him grin.

He started pumping into her slowly; pushing in as far as he could go in his current position. Lady was moaning a chorus as he continued, both of them sweating profusely as their bodies pressed all over each other, his pace gradually increasing as well as his force. She started thrashing about even more wildly as he moved in closer. This was greater than she could have ever imagined. As intense as the pain was at first, it was very much worth it to get to the unbelievable pleasure she was in now. Her walls contracted rapidly when he pushed himself into her hips and began humping her like an animal. He covered her mouth as he continued to hold her leg up with his other hand, thrusting his hips into her at a ferocious pace, once again hitting her sweet spot. He had a knack for finding hers, no matter how tight she was around him. Another orgasm hit her as she yelled his name into his palm, more of her fluids leaking out onto the bed sheets as he continued. The now wet vice grip that had his cock was forcing his own orgasm to resurface. After a few more minutes of pounding her into ecstasy, making her nearly go numb under his touch, he extracted himself, flipped her over, and climbed up her like a dog. Without warning, he shoved his still throbbing erection into her ass, making her jump in pain.

"Don't worry, I'll only be a second." He said. He looked at her ass for a moment just to take in how great it truly was. So many times had he stared at it like a moron in a trance, and now, he was about to have it as well. Every part of Lady was another reason for him to want all of this.

She bucked up her ass for him before he pushed himself in the whole way, gripped her hips and started humping her as fast as he could, knowing she didn't particularly want this to last that long. Though it did feel somewhat incredible, it was very painful for her, but she toughed it out and pretended otherwise, letting out more moans for him while he worked, folding her juicy ass cheeks up over the small of her back. His orgasm came up quickly, and after moving up over her hips a bit more, he went as hard and as fast as he could, making her cry out his name while he shot his load into her, a low, growling moan making Lady smile in pleasure despite the pain. He rested on her back, breathing and sweating heavily as she laid beneath him.

"You're incredible." He breathed.

"You too." She did the same.

Then, after he pulled out, she flipped him over and straddled his hips. She began licking his still erect penis to get him wet again, the hybrid only laying back and smiling while she worked. She then descended upon him for once last ride for the evening, gasping again at the jolt.

"Now it's time for you to relax." She seductively whispered.

She began grinding into him slowly; pushing down on his heaving chest while his hands went all over her body. They both moaned in unison as she followed his routine, going faster and harder on him with every passing second. They caught each other in their eyes again. Only this time, they couldn't leave each other. They peered into each other's souls through icy blue and mismatched eyes, sharing this moment of tranquility with each other after they had shared so much pain. Their hands found each other off to the side, and held each other in a firm grip as she continued. Both of their orgasms were coming again as she rocked into him hard, moaning loudly before starting to bounce up and down on him. He then grabbed her ass, moving his hands to her hips while he began thrusting his cock up into her.

"Ohh, Dante!"

Her orgasm came out of nowhere, cum running down his shaft as he continued to go up into her from underneath. His feet were placed firmly on the bed as his hips rocked up into her. She moaned loudly while gripping his balls as his orgasm neared. He couldn't hold back his moans of pleasure anymore as he let them out, pushing up further into her swollen leaking pussy as he climaxed in her once again, crying out into the room as he released into her fully, going for a little bit more before letting her fall back down on him.

Steam came off of their sweat covered bodies as they laid there together, now relaxing after giving each other what they had both wanted for so long. Their sweaty bangs entangled as they shared on last kiss before they dozed off. No words were needed. The short time they had left for now was already as enjoyable as it could be. They had taken each others pain away. Now, they could share their well-deserved rest together.

* * *

The morning was a white December day, both the clouds and the ground indicating so. The sleet had turned to snow, and the temperature had dropped even further.

Dante awoke to Lady frantically slapping his face, a very worried look on her face.

"Ah, Lady, what the hell?" He blocked her away.

"Dante, get up! A police car just stopped outside!"

This cut through his grogginess like a knife.

"Fuck." He jolted up and began frantically getting dressed.

"So 1803 it is?" One asked the other.

"Yeah, that's the one that was filled last night." The other replied.

"They sure this is it?"

"They seemed pretty positive. Be on point."

They approached the door of the apartment. Just then, a car with the passenger's window down in the near lane came to a stop.

"Excuse me, officers."

The two policemen turned around, and were each greeted with a nine-millimeter bullet between the eyes. They fell to the ground in instant death as the people around began screaming. The passenger took out his metallic holder, did two quick hits, and ordered the driver, "Let's go." The tires screeched as the car sped off down the road.

Lady dashed over to the window and looked out to see the cops doubled over in a pool of blood.

"What the hell?" She said. "Someone just shot those two cops."

Dante stopped getting dressed for a second to take that in.

"... Chance."

Correct he was. Not Chance personally, but his best marksman. Dante had nearly forgotten about the Kifer incident, and was actually surprised it took him this long to respond.

"What did I tell you? Those fucking cokeheads have no subtlety in anything. Just shooting cops in the streets like it isn't shit."

Dante couldn't help but laugh a little. In the midst of all this, Lady could still bitch about something.

"Well, as much as I'd like to agree with you, after last night I'm not exactly in a position to badmouth someone who shot someone else in the street."

"At least you're not a hypocr-, gah, Dante! You need to shut up and get going!"

"Ah, come on babe, they're dead!" He plopped back down on the bed, resting his head back on his hands. "What's say we pick up where we left off last night? I have about five minutes before more cops get here, we can manage."

Lady responded by throwing Dante's shirt and hitting him in the face.

"... So maybe?" He said through the wrinkled piece of cloth.

"Go!" She barked.

Dante groaned as he sat up and tossed on his shirt. He walked over to her and gave her a small peck on the cheek before heading for the window.

"How long do you plan on being gone?"

Dante merely shrugged his shoulders and said, "Who knows. 'Til the serious heat's off at least."

"Then you're not leaving me with _that_."

Dante turned around and smiled as he saw Lady coming towards him. She grabbed his hair and pulled him in for one more long and passionate kiss before he left. His heart began racing again just from this. However long he was gone, damn was he going to miss her.

"Be careful..." He breathed out as they broke their kiss.

"You too." She did the same.

Dante smiled again, and went out the window. He was surprised at how much better he felt after his night with Lady. As incredible as it was, he didn't think it would take his mind off of things, but it did. He was as happy as he could ever be in terms of he and her. After so long, he'd finally gotten that moment with her. And much more than a moment it was.

His mind went back to the task at hand. Fortunately Eddy's wasn't far away from the apartments despite being in a very rural location. He poked his head out of the alley to see that the public's attention had shifted to the scene of the crime out front, and began sprinting east. A few miles and he'd be there.

* * *

The unaccompanied sound of the late-morning news filled Eddy's as he wiped off the bar, a few daytime drunks who had trekked through the snow just to start drinking early barely moving on their stools. He was wiping off a glass as Dante came through the door.

"Was wonderin' when you'd show up."

"Is it here?"

He tossed Dante the keys.

"Out back. And here." He tossed him a wad of cash. "Couple hundred bucks in there. You'll need some road money for how far you plan on goin'."

He knew all about it. Dante wasn't surprised.

"Thanks, Eddy."

"Just don't blow it the fuck up. Now get outta' here before you get the cops on my ass."

Dante nodded, and went around back to the truck.

It was a long road ahead.

**Good thing this didn't take forever... Well, right after I last updated, I got hit with the most hectic week of my life. Last week of the semester completely buried in schoolwork. Then, right after it was all done, got hired on the graveyard shift at my new job. So shit's been busy, and now I have to start training for a possible full pads full contact full length football game between alumni of my old high school and my old high school's rivals. Get to ball out one more time. Probably blow out my knee again, another concussion, all that good bullshit. Happy time! I'm not even gonna' pretend to know when the hell this is getting updated again, but it'll happen. Might be a week, might be Christmas. Who knows? I'm sure I'll be playing both sides of the ball though! (So looking forward to that, NAAAAAAAAAAAHT!) Alright, now that I've finally finished this chapter, I'm gonna' go to sleep for about forty minutes before I have to go to work in an hour. Oh joy. Credit to Richard Adams for the excerpt.**

**"Fuck the tournament. Fuck you, Walter." "... Fuck the tournament? Okay, Dude, I can see you don't wanna' be cheered up here. Come on, Donny, let's go get us a lane."**

**PEACE!**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Beneath The Shadows_**

**_Chapter 8_**

_Seven Months Later_

The summer heat cooked on the smooth surface of the pavement, hazy vapor hovering above the smoldering asphalt. The sky was an unspotted ocean of blue save for the beating hot sun that seared whatever it touched. Ninety-five degrees and a humidity of one hundred percent, but that wasn't what the people had to complain about. With the blistering heat and incessant inactivity, the city did seem somewhat like an old western ghost town. But the cowboys always came out to play eventually. Everyone waited; those involved, and those that watched, and prayed. These incidents would usually be triggered by a subtle action. Sometimes a single shot, sometimes even a glance in a certain direction. As soon as it happened though...

"Shit!"

The winged beast crashed into the squad car, splitting it in half and killing the two officers inside. The other officers around them exited their cars and opened fire on the sky of flying terrors. As was the routine, everyone else who wasn't armed went for cover, while all others, remaining hunters and vigilantes alike, followed the cops lead. A large group of ground-based demons came from the north of the interstate, trampling over abandoned cars as more closed in from the east and west.

"They're surrounding us!"

The group came to a center and stood in a triangle, backs to each other while they each tried desperately to ward them off. But it was to no avail. They were only killing one demon for every ten seconds, and they were closing in fast, the remaining flyers picking off those who were firing at them on rooftops and from windows.

"Nice to know you have shit under control!" One stated towards the officers.

"Where's our backup?"

"They're tied up with those south side assholes!"

"Fuck!"

As the group from the north neared, a rocket from the south descended upon them, vaporizing the majority as the group looked back to see where their saving grace had come from. They weren't surprised to see Lady standing a top the roof of a tall building, now picking off the remainder of the flyers, dropping them to the streets where the human forces were starting to regain the upper hand.

Lady's pinpoint accuracy made short work of her targets, allowing her to quickly make her way back down, flipping on and off of whatever foothold she could find until she was on the ground. She immediately opened fire on the group from the east, whose focus had been directed towards a group of screaming civilians. She redirected their attention to her by dropping a few of them, remembering to always go for the head like Dante had beat into her head over the years.

The hideous creatures dashed at the huntress, drool dripping from jagged fangs as she dropped her machine guns once depleted of ammo and went to her twin nine millimeters, with which she was just as efficient. She sensed more coming at her from the west, and split her pistol fire, decreasing the numbers in each group while the others took care of the remainder of the demons from the north. Although she was on point, the gaps between Lady and the demons was shrinking fast, and she would have to regroup if she didn't get them all down, which would have left the others vulnerable.

Luckily, a few bolts of electricity hit each group from inside another building as Trish emerged, sunglasses on and guns out. She landed next to her colleague and gave her a couple of clips, instantly opening fire afterwards.

"Damn is it good to see you!" Lady said over the gunfire.

"Likewise!" Trish did the same. "I thought I wasn't gettin' outta' that building! It was totally overrun!"

"I think everywhere is!"

They continued their fire, killing off the last of the demons as the group fending off the north did the same.

Cheers filled the air, as they believed they had vanquished the attackers.

But it wasn't over.

From the north came a line of massive armored demons, who slaughtered the others with only a few swipes of their mighty blades. One officer who was falling to his death fired a shot that hit the gas tank of a car near Lady and Trish, which sent them into a wall.

The line of charging demons trampled over everything in their path as they closed in on Lady and Trish, who were just getting up from the explosion of the car, and both completely out of ammo.

"This isn't good." Lady plainly stated.

"Don't worry." Trish smiled, and rose up her arms.

Static electricity swirled around her fingertips as she prepared her attack. She hurled the concentrated energy at her inner closing row of targets, but much to her and her partner's chagrin, the attack bounced off the demons' hardened skin.

"Well, fuck." Trish removed her sunglasses.

Unnerved, they stood stoic as the demons closed in, salivating over the nearing flesh they would dine on. They were about to duck out of the way, but before they got any closer, something cut through the air as if it were something ethereal, and before Lady and Trish knew it, seven headless demons were falling at their feet.

"Perfect timing." Trish said.

The white-haired warrior landed in front of them, giving no other response save for the return of his sword to its case.

"I guess he doesn't care for compliments, either." She laughed.

"Compliments are for the weak." He chillingly uttered, and turned to face them. "But I don't need to remind you two of that."

"What does _that_ mean?" Lady snapped.

The elder twin smiled, and began walking towards them.

"The recurring theme." He confidently proclaimed. "When all is bleakest, turn to the half-devil to save you. I did it upon my return, and I've done it ever since."

"We didn't need your help."

"And before it was me… " He continued as if she hadn't spoke. "... It was my brother." He grinned. "It just goes to show you how much weaker you are than us." He directed his stare to Lady individually. "_That_ is what that means."

Lady, never one to take provocation with a grain of salt, immediately withdrew her pistol, and held it to Vergil's chin. Trish smiled.

"Let me tell you something, demon…" Her glare intensified. "We've been the ones fighting the past six months. We've been the ones struggling to survive, sleeping less than an hour a night, keeping your kind from destroying us."

"And I've been _idling_ away my time." His snide tone made her stomach turn. "But you can blame Dante for that." He paid no attention to the gun.

"Well I guess we could, _Nelo_..." Trish smirked, catching his attention "... but whose fault was that exactly?" She stared at him.

Lady stood in a confused state. She wasn't familiar with the incident at Mallet Island.

"Well why don't we ask Dante? Oh, but where is he?" He mockingly looked around for Dante with his hands out. "Shooed away by those who now desperately cry for his return. Even more pathetic." He laughed. "Though maybe you shouldn't be hoping for his return as much as you should be thanking me for your lives, though I'm sure _you _might have a problem with granting appreciation to a demon." He looked at Lady.

"Not true. I've done it for your brother _plenty_." She slyly said.

"I'm certain you have." He turned his back. "His affection for humans is unwavering. Sickening, in my mind. It has always been the biggest difference between us." He closed his eyes. "And his biggest weakness."

"I don't think anything about defending those who can't defend themselves is weak." Lady stated. "It sure as hell didn't bother you."

Vergil quickly turned to face Lady.

"Understand this, human." He slowly stepped to her. "My return was my finding a way out of hell, not something based upon my care for humans. I could care less if each and everyone of these sheep are slaughtered at the hands of this horde."

"Yet you saved us." Trish once again intervened. Vergil smiled.

"All part of a plan. All you need to know is that you two are more used to me alive than dead. Don't think I have any soft spots for you, or Dante for that matter."

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual." Lady rebutted.

As arrogant as Dante was, she couldn't believe the arrogance that just seethed through Vergil's pores. Dante was always a boastful pompous-ass, but Vergil truly believed that he was above all, that he was the ultimate authority, though in the midst of this chaos, authority ceased to exist.

Shortly after Dante's disappearance, the demons started coming back in their regular numbers and consistency. Soon, without Dante there to kill off the majority of them, they quickly began gaining the upper hand on all remaining hunters, and eventually, law enforcement as well. Lady and Trish found it easy enough to survive, but much more difficult to protect the citizens of the city. Within the first weeks of the New Year, the fatality rate had already doubled from the year before within the city, and more and more demons were coming in, and barely any were being killed. To everyone's disdain, even months after the destruction had ensued, the mayor of the city still had yet to declare martial law, for fear that he may look weak as a leader, and the government made no intervention, fearing that widespread panic might rise in the rest of the nation if military involvement is now required to keep the public safe. They only hoped to resolve the situation with the power of the city's law enforcement, which was failing miserably. Unlike all other cities, this city had lost the vast majority of its hunters, which was what the upper powers didn't understand, and which was why the police couldn't handle the demons anymore.

The complete demolition of the city and its people was almost complete. The portals of hell were opening more frequently than ever before. The more demonic congestion in a given area, the more the portals open in that area. Demons were pouring out of hell into the city, but the now oft-open portals also provided at least a temporary halt in the city's demise. Vergil, who had been wondering in the darkness ever since his defeat at the hands of Dante, finally saw his chance for escape with more portals opening, and made his way through, killing a number of demons in the large group that was crossing over in the process.

His minor acquaintance with Lady allowed for an understanding between the two once he caught up with her, as well as Trish, and with their efforts, they stopped the demons from consuming everyone for the time being. But more and more demons were still coming through, and they were gaining more power each moment. With the city on the edge of an end, even Vergil knew that they alone couldn't vanquish the rest of the demons. He knew that Dante would have to return to get this job done. But his words were true; he truly didn't care about the people. He did, in fact, have ulterior motives, and Lady and Trish were hell-bent on finding out what they were.

"And don't think he's not coming back, because he is. And you two are gonna' have to work together to stop this."

Vergil smiled, and scoffed as if the statement had no substance.

"Think whatever you'd like."

The half-breed turned and walked away.

"And you thought Dante was self-absorbed." Trish looked at her.

"Ugh, it sickens me even more that we share the same living arrangements as him."

"Hey, at least he's not there ninety percent of the time."

"That's ten percent too much for me."

Shortly after the demon attacks began, Trish had let Lady move in with her at her safe house. There was really no business for the hunting of demons anymore - it was now just a game of survival - so Lady had no way to continue to pay the rent. They also knew they'd have the best chance surviving as a team. Then, upon his return, Vergil needed a place to rest when he needed to, and given the help he was granting, whatever his intentions were, they decided to help him in that regard. But as soon as he replenished his strength, he would vanish.

Both stood sweating profusely, the baking heat wearing on both of them.

"Why'd you call him Nelo?" Lady asked.

"Eh, I'll tell you some other time, maybe in a bit cooler of an environment. So, what are your plans for today besides the never-ending avoiding of death?"

"I think it's time I'd paid Chance a visit. The cops can't do anything to help fight against the demons as long as they're at war with that idiot, and vice-versa."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

Lady smiled. "Trust me, he doesn't have the balls to make a move. He knows he'll be the one with a bullet hole or a few dozen. How about you?"

"I'm still trying to get in contact with Morrison. I haven't heard from him in months."

"Well with Ricky popping off agents like it's his job."

"They didn't have any beef, though. Not that I know of at least."

"Alright, well let me know if you get word on anything else. We have to hit the heavily populated areas later on. The demons have been targeting them recently."

"Will do. Be safe."

"You too."

* * *

"_... as the destruction continues in the major metropolitan area. Casualties are now being estimated in the high thousands since the December Sixteenth Massacre, which resulted in the disappearance of fugitive, 'Dante' who was witnessed murdering a criminal syndicate known as Trappers, who, along with their profession of poaching demons, had been linked to multiple vendetta-related homicides involving Hunters, another crime ring within the city, and civilians Nina and Patty Lowell. There have been no leads as to who was funding the Trappers, nor to whom they were selling their captured demons. Meanwhile, the police continue their ongoing feud with the South Side Dice, the last known remaining functional group of Hunters within the city."_

"Man, this is some bullshit." Eddy said as he steadily cleaned a glass while keeping his eye on the television.

"Yeah, I definitely liked it better when Douche Bag was here." Johnny added.

"He is, isn't he?" Jose slurred.

"No, I guess that's supposed to be his twin brother." Eddy replied.

"Wha?"

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"It took forever for the cops to realize it wasn't him." Johnny said.

"I heard he cut his hand open and slapped an officer who was chasing him in the face, and said, 'Let me know how the test results come back.' then bolted." One added.

"Where'd you hear that?" Eddy smirked.

"Dude I know who sells weed in that alley."

"An always reliable source." Eddy laughed and shook his head.

"Heh, not really." He wittily replied.

The police ultimately did decide to use the blood off the officer's face to do a DNA test, and though extremely similar to the DNA from their sample of Dante's blood they had collected from the crime scene, it wasn't an exact match. The chief wanted to rip his hair out once he realized that there were in fact two of them, and that he could really do nothing about Vergil since he had yet to commit a recorded crime. He technically wasn't even in the system.

"But really, I'm sick of this shit." Johnny complained. "I had to blast one in my backyard just the other night."

"Sure it wasn't your wife?" Eddy got the whole bar laughing.

"Eat shit, Eddy."

"Well, that motherfucker better get back here quick. He's probably putting mad miles on my truck if he hasn't wrecked the damn thing yet." Eddy said.

"Fuck your truck, I'm trying not to die!" Jose replied.

"As is evident by your oh-so-healthy lifestyle." Johnny snapped.

"Now don't you go shittin' on others just 'cause I shit on you." Eddy pointed at Johnny. "And Jose, go pick up my trash cans."

"I didn't even hit 'em this time."

"Go pick 'em up anyways."

* * *

Lady climbed the long staircase to the top of Chance's club. Only Dante had ever set foot in his office, which was a surprisingly peaceful result over a money dispute involving a job which both had been involved in.

Demetrius Chance was the former Director of Weapons Intelligence and Crime & Narcotics for the Central Intelligence Agency. After his promotion from Weapons Intelligence to Crime & Narcotics, he was in the running to take over as Executive Officer of the CIA, but was passed over for the job due to what he later discovered in the report as having a "radical personality" and "possible clouded judgment due to anger issues."

In turn, he responded by using his access to the information of the drug and weapons flow inside the country to secretly form his own criminal organization by setting up major seizures on heavy transports with those he knew outside the CIA who had the resources and manpower to pull them off.

Soon, he had the money and weapons to set up, and resigned from the CIA before they even realized what was going on. Even after they did, they didn't have the power to go after him directly, and if it got out that someone within the CIA had sabotaged drug and weapon trafficking that they knew about for his own benefit, their trust amongst the public would plummet, and their government funding would most likely take a severe hit, so there was no chance of putting him on trial.

Now, he was the leader of the last organized group of hunters in the city.

Lady made her way up to the massive guard blocking the door of his Chance's large office.

"What's your business, girl?" He said with his arms folded.

"I'm here to meet with Chance."

Without responding, he turned and went into the office, closing the door behind him. After a brief moment, he came back out, and held the door open for Lady.

She entered, and saw the longhaired man sitting at his large desk at the far end of the room, rings on his fingers, a pile of coke on his desk, multiple guards standing throughout the room... and Ricky.

She had heard that he had joined Chance shortly after the incident with Enzo, but she couldn't believe it until she saw it herself. She never thought he'd be following someone else.

"So, she finally decides to travel to our neck of the woods." His low, rough voice filled the room. "Come to buy some guns, maybe help you actually get things under control up there?"

"I'm here because of this bullshit you've started with the cops." She wasted no time in getting to the point.

"The bullshit _I've _started?" He laughed. "Now there's a skewed view of things." He looked at Ricky. "Was it not the cops who started it by killing Kifer for no reason?" He looked back at Lady. "You know what?" He snapped his fingers. "I think it was!"

"I don't care who it was, Chance. We're in trouble here, and if you don't lay off the cops, they can't do anything to help us. And it'd be _mighty_ _white_ of you if you could actually help us out a little. Once everyone in the center of the city is gone, who do you think is next?"

"You're worried about the demons. I'm not."

"I'm not either. I'm worried about everyone else that's suffering because of this.

He did a line of his candy. "Ah, good shit."

"Chance," Lady put her hands on his desk. "Could you just cut me some Goddamn slack here? We're fighting for our lives, and you're not making it any easier. Just do me a favor and stop this shit with the cops, at least until we've dealt with the demons."

He looked down from her and smiled.

"You routinely talk shit on me and my crew for the past two years... you proclaim to be the baddest bitch in the land, better than all the rest of us, yet here you are now, asking me to do you a favor..." He laughed. "What's wrong, can't hang any more since Dante's left?"

Lady's eye twitched at the remark. She could have killed him right there.

"Here's some advice," He stared at her. "Can't take the heat, get the fuck up out the kitchen."

She turned and started to walk away before turning back to look at Ricky, whose eyes were fixed on the ground.

"Yeah, I wouldn't look at me, either." She snapped, and walked out of the office.

"Funny, how little she actually knows." Chance grinned.

"Aren't we the only ones who really do, though?" Rick asked.

"Yes, and that is precisely why _we _are in control of this situation, not that cunt."

"You want me to get everybody together?"

"... No. Something tells me we may have some trickle-down effect from the demon attack today. It's possible we'll catch whatever's left of them. Have them stick around, but make sure they're sharp."

"Got it."

"Well, no help here." Lady thought to herself as she exited the club. "Where are you, Dante?"

**Well damn, a chapter less than 5,000 words. In truth, the next couple will be about this long. I could've cram-packed my ideas into one chapter, but that leaves you with no suspense now does it? Hopefully there aren't too many fuck ups in this chapter (I went back and fixed A LOT of shit I missed in the previous chapters), but if there are, let me know. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Back in school, working a shit ton (but at least no longer on the night shift) and I did wind up playing in that alumni game. Fun as hell. Yakked after two series, felt great for the rest of the game, won that shit 23-7. I never did more five-step pass blocking in my life. The next couple of chapters should be up soon. I'm back in that college writing mode, so I should get them written quicker than usual.**

**"I don't like you suckin' around and bothering our citizens, Lebowski. I don't like your jerk-off name, I don't like your jerk-off face, I don't like your jerk-off behavior, and I don't like you, jerk-off. Do I make myself clear?"**

**"... I'm sorry, I wasn't listening."**

**PEACE!**


	9. Chapter 9

**********"Man, cut, Ray. Truck drivin passed out phantom 309 motha fucka."**

**__********_Beneath The Shadows_**

**_Chapter 9_**

Morrison walked down the dimly lit city block, dark urban characteristics surrounding him, the depressing mood reminding him of why he was there. As much as he'd have liked to believe that things would be all right with Dante missing, the truth was that everything was falling apart. It seemed as if it was like this everywhere, though. It didn't surprise him that some of the demons would stray from the cities that were heavily congested. Some of the demons with higher intelligence and human logic, like Dante, followed his example and chose to lead a normal life. The more mindless ones wandered off from the hordes, killing and feeding on whatever they could until they wound up dead. But the large majority was somewhere in between, and now made up the enormous masses that were beginning to appear in more and more places, destroying and consuming everything in their path.

And back home was getting hit the hardest.

Morrison was optimistic about the amount of demonic activity going on in the area. When he came up four months ago, there was a decent amount of little critters hopping around. He'd barely gotten out of his car to look for Dante last time. He remembered from a mission there a couple years ago that Dante said he knew a couple guys here that would provide him a safe house whenever he needed it. He didn't find any trace of him then, but this time, the absence of demons had Morrison encouraged to find the devil slayer. The agent knew he wouldn't be able to question the locals about Dante since he was a nationally known fugitive, so he had to focus on the people who he suspected were providing him shelter. Morrison remembered that Dante had told him that they were into selling musical instruments, and had even set Dante up with his first instruments to put in the shop, as well as his jukebox. He figured the local tavern might be housing someone who knew them, or at least where they were. The coming rain aided in his decision to start there. As he pushed the door open and entered, he wasn't greeted with any stares that would typically fall upon an outsider. The crowd simply continued their chatter and drinking without noticing him to be any different than anyone else in the bar. Not having to worry about any awkwardness, Morrison hastily made his approach to the bar and sat down.

"What can I get ya' bud?" The bartender asked.

"Actually, I was wondering if you could give me some directions."

"I know, I just figured I'd ask. Could tell your not from here the second that door opened."

"Hmm… Did everyone else?"

"Yeah, but we just don't give a shit. Lotta' people roll through here. What're ya' lookin 'for?"

"Know any two guys who sell musical instruments?"

"Koobs and Dank?"

"That's them." Morrison snapped his fingers. "They have a shop?"

"Yeah, but I forget what it's called. Hey, Timmy!"

A man at the other end of the bar looked up from his drink. "Bill, I told you I'll pay my tab at the end of the week."

"Not that, cheap prick. What's the name of Dank's place?"

"… Picks n' Sticks?"

"Yeah, that's what it is."

"Picks n' Sticks…" Morrison repeated. "Can you tell me where it is?"

"Well, I haven't been there since I got my Srat years ago. But if my memory's worth a shit, it's a few blocks down from the old glass factory."

"And where's that?"

"When you open the door, look to your left. It's that giant shithole that looks like it's about to cave in."

"Oh, that." Morrison saw the huge monstrosity before entering the bar.

"I think you hang a right once you get to the main gate, then just keep straight 'til you get there."

"Thanks for the tip, bud."

"Hey, Bill! We placin' bets for any games?" Another shouted from across the room as Morrison got up to leave.

"Earl, for real? It's pre-season. You need to control your fuckin gambling."

Morrison heard the man grumble something as he shut the door behind him. He folded his coat closed before moving towards the factory, a chilling wind having joined the rain. A few cars crept along as he trudged through the cold wet streets, typical summer weather not present in this city. Upon making it to the factory entrance, he took a right and started down the street to the shop. He could see the partially lit sign in the distance. Before he could get there, it started to rain heavily. He hastened his pace to a near run for the last hundred yards until he finally got to the door; relieved to see they were open. Morrison pushed open the glass door and entered the music store, the sounds of Jimmi Hendrix lightly flowing throughout.

"Help you?" The large clerk behind the counter said.

"Yeah, are you Koobs?" The agent asked.

"Nah, he's is in the back changing some strings. I'm Dank." He paused and looked over Morrison. "Is there something you need?"

"I'm actually looking for someone who I think may have dropped by or even stayed here recently."

"Like who?"

"Any particular white-haired individual."

"… You a cop?"

"No. I'm his agent."

"What's your name?"

"Morrison."

Dank analyzed the situation, and came to the determination that he could trust Morrison. Although he was dressed somewhat like a detective, Dank knew if Morrison was a cop, he had to tell him so; otherwise any charges brought against him would be dismissed on grounds of entrapment. Still, he hated having to be cautious with people he didn't know, but aiding and abetting wasn't something he was about to go to prison for.

"Yo, Boobs!" He shouted.

"What?" The response came.

"You seen fuck face lately?"

"Dude, he hasn't been here for like three weeks!"

"….. Really?"

"Smoke another one, Dank!"

"Fuck yourself, Boobs!" He looked back to Morrison. "Well look, he's been around here off and on for the past few months. Crashes here every now and then, but he doesn't stay on a regular basis. Stick around for a few days, he might show up."

"I can't wait that long. Time is of the essence."

"Sorry bro, but that's really all I can give ya'. He doesn't tell us that much either. Bit quieter than I remember him."

"…Yeah…" Morrison knew why. "Well, thanks anyways, kid."

The frustrated agent exited the shop back onto the wet streets, hastily making his way back to the lot where he'd parked. It was starting to get dark, clouds growing dimmer as he moved along. He noticed there was nobody on the streets, which made him a bit uneasy, his pace increasing as a result. Morrison wasn't as adept in sensing demons as his constituencies, but he still knew when they were around. That smell…

Stopping in his tracks, he looked down an alley to see if there was anything. After a few seconds, he turned back to start down the street. As soon as he did, however, he stepped face first into the abdomen of a rather large and grotesque demon, growling and salivating as Morrison stood inches from it, trying not to dry heave from the stench.

"Why do I always have to run into the most putrid fucking demons?" He said looking up to the demon's hideous face. It responded with a shriek, flashing its gruesome fangs as it swatted Morrison onto the road like he was a fly. After getting to his feet, Morrison took out his snub nosed revolver and planted six shots in the demons chest, halting its advance. However, the wounds closed up quickly and the beast chuckled as Morrison's shoulders dropped in disappointment.

"Fuck."

The demon opened its mouth as if to consume Morrison, but as it prepared to come down, something stopped it. Morrison couldn't see what was holding the demon back until it was heaved into the brick wall of a building across the street. To his delight, it was the sight that he was hoping for.

"Figured it'd be you who found me." He said.

"Well it fuckin took me long enough." Morrison got to his feet, brushing himself off. "Nice to see ya, kid."

Dante then suddenly turned around and dashed into the demon, crushing it against the wall before he began unloading on it with lefts and rights. Beating it down to its knees, Dante took the demon's head in his hands, and snapped its neck.

"See you haven't lost your touch." The agent proclaimed.

"Never." Dante boasted.

"And with none of your toys to boot."

"It's actually been refreshing not using them."

"The old fisticuffs working?" He chuckled.

"Better than ever." He confidently looked down at his hands.

"How ya' doin?"

"Let's talk somewhere else." Dante turned and went into the alley. Morrison followed.

* * *

"Where've you been?" Morrison blew smoke into the small, dim room.

"I actually just left here a few weeks ago. Can't stay in one place for too long."

"What've you been doing all this time?"

"Killin' whatever demons I can."

"So basically what you've been doing back home then?" His agent said.

"Yeah, I mean besides hiding from the law and having no damn money."

"Huh, I must've missed that two hours where you actually had any money."

"Well with agents like you..."

"Kiss my ass." He drew on his smoke again. "So, how've you been holding up?"

"I'm good." He sounded uncertain. To him, that was a number of questions rolled into one. "I don't give those bastards two thoughts, and quite frankly, I don't care what it's cost me. But…" He paused. "Well, I guess that's gotten better over time."

"What?" Morrison asked. "Patty?"

Dante sighed. "Yeah." He looked down. "At first… I had dreams… all I kept seeing was her eyes. I could hear her screaming, and I always tried to yell back, but I couldn't. It…" He sighed again. "… It just reminded me of how helpless I felt... not being able to save her."

"There's nothing you could've done."

"Bullshit. Don't try to sugarcoat the reason it happened in the first place."

"Kid, nobody would've predicted them to do what they did, no matter what you did first. You have to stop thinking about it." He hit his smoke.

"I don't." He quickly replied. "Not anymore, anyways."

Morrison only responded with a puzzled look.

"Lady…"

"Lady?"

"It doesn't matter what happens on any given day, or how much losing Patty still hurts… all I can think about is her."

"Uh-oh, looks like someone finally got her to wet his whistle." Morrison laughed.

"Fuck you." He swiped his cigarette out of his hand and took a few drags. "But honestly, I've never felt this way about another chick. But that's the thing, she's not just some other chick."

"Yeah, no shit. Ever see her in skin-tight jeans and some bright pink t-shirt, falling all over guys in the bar, drunk?"

"Nope."

"Because she's different, kid. She's one of a kind, which is why you're attracted to her and none of those dumb tramps that gravitate towards you. She's a challenge, which you of course love by nature. Of course it took her developing into a complete piece of ass for you to notice."

"Hey, that's not all I noticed. She's also developed quite the chest."

"You're such a fuck." Morrison chuckled, shaking his head. "And give me back my damn smoke."

"Being away from the action doesn't help either, and I'll tell you what, it's boring as hell around here. The few demons I do kill aren't even noticed because everyone around here thinks they've just stopped appearing. And they're all such pussies."

"Shit, you want something to do, get your ass back home."

"Is it that bad?"

Morrison laughed. "Oh yeah. It's that bad." He hit his cigarette. "Summed up, we have a shortage in order and a surplus of demons."

"How?"

"Well…" Morrison took a long draw of smoke, getting ready to explain it to Dante fully. "After Ricky offed Enzo, he faced some serious backlash from some people Enzo knew."

"Who?"

"I'll give you two guesses, but you're only gonna' need one."

Dante sat back in his chair, needing no further elaboration.

"I didn't think Enzo was connected."

"I didn't either, but it turns out he was a made guy for this family."

Dante laughed.

"Enzo a made guy? Sure as hell din't carry himself that way." He scoffed. "Why was he an agent for contract hunters then?"

"Just another way he got his boss money."

"Well there's no easier way to piss off La Cosa Nostra than fucking with their money."

"I guess so. Soon as they found out it was Ricky, the capo regime of the crew Enzo belonged to ordered to have Ricky clipped."

"What about Ricky's guys?"

"He didn't have much of a crew left to make any kind of a stand, and this family was no group of stuggots."

"So he goes to Chance to solve his problem."

"In exchange for joining him."

"How could Chance take out an entire family when he's fucking with the cops and taking out demons?"

"Well, as it turns out, a half-decent amount of the other hunters we thought were dead joined up with Chance, same with the ones who were left standing when you took off. He's amassed a pretty damn big army. And while he took time to take care of Ricky's problem, the cops took the opportunity to do what they could against some of the demons."

Dante only scoffed in disgust.

"He had the head of the family, his underboss, his capos, and all his top soldatos dead within less than a week. Anyone they didn't kill they recruited."

"Nobody they were involved with did anything?"

"Not jack shit. Guess they weren't that popular."

"Damn." A surprised Dante said. "Can't believe Ricky'd bend to Chance like that. I've known him for almost five years, seen him tangle with some of the biggest demons out there."

"One man with his two or three remaining men isn't shit against an entire Mafioso family. He swallowed a lot of pride doing what he did."

"He's bound to Chance now, though." Dante said. "But hell, that might not so bad for him from the sound of things."

"It really is cut throat out there, kid." Morrison put his cigarette out. "People are doin' whatever it takes to survive. Chance has the cops so far back on their heels they can't do but two shits about the demons. There's a lot of those pricks too, let me tell ya'."

Dante looked up to his agent.

"How many?"

"Too many, and growing everyday."

Dante knew how the congestion of demons worked, and that the situation was more serious than he had thought.

"People are starting to form militias to fight those bastards. They respect Chance more than the cops."

"Great." Dante sarcastically groaned. "How can Chance cause them that much grief though? Even with a force his size, it's the fucking police force."

"Like I said, they have their hands full with them and the demons. They're literally split into two forces"

"… I don't know, something's up."

"Well, Chance knows what he's doing, Dante."

"Yeah, I know all about that CIA bullshit."

"No, that's just half of it." He drew on his cigarette. "He was a former seal team commander during Dessert Storm."

"No shit?"

"No shit. Led six successful operations off the coast of Iraq during the real fucking crunch time of the conflict. Unfortunately on his seventh, he got his team got deep into enemy territory when his commanding officer gave him the wrong coordinates for a sting on an enemy supply convoy. Wound up the middle of fucking nowhere. But that officer convinced his admiral that he gave Chance the right coordinates, and subsequently, Chance was removed from his position. But little did he know that Chance still had the coordinates in a report that he showed to the admiral when he got back, but it was well after he had been shit canned."

"His whole career's based on bad luck. No wonder he's such a bitter prick."

"The admiral then decides that it's too late to reverse the decision but doesn't want to look bad admitting he made a mistake, so to hush Chance up, he gives him a good recommendation for the CIA job. That's another reason the CIA didn't turn him over to authorities for what he did with the military command."

"They knew he'd talk."

"Yeah. And they didn't even bother black listing him because he could sense a hit man a mile away, and if he did, he'd talk then, too."

"Good to know you can get away with treason so long as a few people will look bad if you don't."

"Hey, that's how the country's been run for years, kid. That ain't anything new." He laughed. Morrison was always keen on politics.

"And… there's one more thing…"

Dante looked back up to Morrison.

"… Well, spill it already."

"Your brother's back."

Dante's heart nearly jumped through his chest.

"What?"

"Came back a month or so ago. Not sure how, though. I thought you killed him twice already."

"I did, but devils always return to hell when they die."

"Why'd it take him this long to return?"

"Hard to say. All I know is that the more demons in one area on earth, the more portals from hell open., some of which stay open longer than others... maybe it takes him longer to go through since he's more powerful..."

"That actually makes sense. Now that I think about it, there was a big group when most of the north side collapsed."

"Well, there you have it. And trust me, if that's the case, with the way it sounds like things are going he's not the last powerful demon that'll come through."

"Great." Morrison scoffed.

"Is Lady okay?" Dante's concern immediately shifted to her wellbeing.

"She's fine. Apparently your brother's working with her and Trish."

"Working with them?" His eyes narrowed.

"Yeah. He hasn't given anyone but demons trouble. I'll tell ya', though, he's more of an arrogant fuck than you are." He lit another cigarette.

"Heh, I'll give him that."

"Still, we need you back there. His coming just postponed the city's collapse. If we're getting all those pricks the hell outta' there, you have to help. Like I said, the cops are powerless because of Chance."

"What the hell ever happened to the national guard?"

"The government's shootin' off some shit about how we can't create nationwide panic by deploying the military to contain demonic activity. Haven't you seen any of this on TV?"

"I don't watch the news."

"Well don't you think maybe you should, ya know, being on the run from the law and everything?"

"I've never watched the news, I'm not gonna start now." Morrison rolled his eyes. "But that's bullshit." Dante continued. "There's something else going on there."

"What then?"

"I don't know…" He paused. "But the longer it stays like this, and the more congestion increases, there's only gonna' be more powerful demons and in larger amounts… So I think you're right… I think I need to be heading back."

* * *

_A Week Later_

"So, you ready to talk yet?" The large enforcer asked.

"Go fuck yourself." The cop replied, hands cuffed behind the chair he was in, his face bloodied from shots already dealt out.

He received another trio of rights for his response, the enforcer motioning to one of his men to get something.

"Hammer time. That's it." He whistled, and the guard threw him a hammer from the worktable. The cop's eyes widened and his heart raced as the enforcer approached him with the old rusty tool.

"Now what was it you just said to me? Go fuck yourself, was it? Isn't that what you said?" He waived the hammer in front of the cop's face.

"Do your worst, you drug-fucked pecker head." He spat on the enforcer's shoe.

The enforcer simply shrugged, and delivered a vicious shot to his elbow and knee, followed by a kick to the chest that sent him to the ground.

The cop groaned in pain as the enforcer stepped over him.

"Having any reconsiderations?"

The cop struggled to his knees. "Yeah… I should've stayed in law school…"

"Yeah, you should've." The enforcer bashed the cop in the face, sending him back down to the ground. "Well, last chance, asshole. Sure you don't have anything to say?"

The cop tried to mumble something.

"You shattered his jaw, dip shit." One of the soldiers said. "Not gonna get him to say much now."

"Damn it, you're right." He mockingly dropped his shoulders and shot the cop in the head as he stood over him.

"What the fuck, Murdoc?"

"What?" He snapped. "I thought he wasn't gonna say much."

"I know but holy sh-"

His words were cut short by the 50mm bullet that flew through his head, window glass shattering around him.

"Get down!" The enforcer said as the man dropped to the ground. His crew lay there, waiting for another shot so they could see the flash. However, instead of flash, they were then greeted with a bright spotlight.

"Oh, shit." The enforcer groaned as the police chopper rotated ninety degrees, positioning the gunner inside to unload on the crew. After a short moment, the chopper had cleared the entire floor of Chance's men.

"Sky 1 to HQ, we've neutralized the threat in the WorldTech building. Moving down to check the streets, over."

The chopper descended lower to the violence flooded streets. It and the sniper that took out Chance's men now focused on a group of demons giving the SWAT team trouble. They had succeeded in keeping the demons at a distance, but that distance was shrinking. The additional firepower was able to halt the demons, but another wave flanked around from the other city block. The chopper moved into position, but was struck in the propeller stem with a 50mm round from their sniper's gun.

"What the hell?" The pilot yelled, losing control of the chopper.

After seeing the flash from the shot, Chance's top marksman had infiltrated the SWAT Sniper's post, cut his throat from behind, and commandeered his rifle.

He fired two more rounds at the back propeller, which sent it spiraling to the ground into a portion of the demons, blood and shrapnel flying everywhere. The rest of the demons then overtook the SWAT team, ripping whoever didn't run to shreds while their clumsy gunfire did little to stop them. Chance's marksman didn't engage any further, not wanting to attract the demons to him. Instead, he simply left to let them do his bidding. Once they had finished the cops, the demons moved towards whoever was unfortunate enough to be on the streets. The sun had almost set on the bloody setting, the demons prowling the dim but still blistering hot streets. The summer had been relentlessly unbearable.

Two more powerful demons emerged from the portals generated by the hordes. The rest made their way towards them as they gathered in a larger group in an attempt to open more portals. Just then, a light pierced through the darkness down the street, getting closer and closer with each second. Machine gun fire began spitting from the source of light, dropping a few of the demons before it came into their sight fully. The demons launched projectile attacks at the speeding motorcycle, but to no avail. The rider maneuvered swiftly down the road, avoiding any obstacles and attacks that came her way. She then came to a sudden stop, pivoting the bike and positioning herself to launch her rocket into the crowd. The attack eradicated a handful of demons as Lady took off her helmet, swinging her sweaty bangs out of her eyes. She looked up to see another line of them decapitated with one swift movement, heads dropping to their feet as Vergil appeared balanced on a street light, Yamato raised back behind his head. A blast of electricity then hit the demons, dropping all but the two that had just came through. Trish stood on a rooftop above, wearing her sunglasses and a wicked smirk.

The three had succeeded in taking out most of the demons, but not before more portals opened. A large group of demons swarmed through the openings, scattering off in different directions. The one greater demon charged at Vergil while the other made its way towards a group of people. Trish dropped down next to Lady as they battled with the lesser demons while Vergil tangled with the other one. Demons lunged at Lady as she jumped and flipped out of harms way, landing precise shots to their heads as she flew through the air. Trish stood stoic, frying them with her lightning, not even bothering with her guns. Meanwhile, Vergil cut his way around the large demon, avoiding attacks while landing his own. The demon flailed mindlessly, knocking over street sigs and lights while the hybrid spilled its blood all over the road. Lady and Trish continued to do work at the other end when Lady noticed the other large demon making its way closer to the few people on the street.

"Vergil, take care of him!" She yelled.

Whether he ignored her or didn't hear her, Vergil continued the near-lifeless demon in front of him. Lady darted off towards them, but knew she wouldn't make it in time.

"Fuck! Vergil!" She yelled again.

The people the demon was after had made it back inside or to their cars save for a woman with her elderly father. They were struggling to get back to their car as the demon closed in. As the woman opened the door, the car was crushed by the giant fist of the demon, knocking her and her father to the ground. It was slowed by a cluster of gunshots from above, and then stopped by a sword through the chest.

Lady looked up to see a blur of crimson and platinum. Her eyes lit up as they met Dante's, a smile on his face. He leapt from his post and descended down to the demon with a spray of bullets from Ebony and Ivory. He stopped to fall quicker, pulling Rebellion from the demon's chest before he landed in front of it. He cut the demon's legs out from under it, bringing it down to size enough for Dante to fall it by slicing its head in half. As the demon fell in front of him, the top half of the other one flew right over his head before bouncing off the ground. Dante turned around to see the legs of the demon crumble to the ground, Vergil putting Yamato away as he came into Dante's sight. Dante returned his weapons to their holsters before walking over to Vergil.

Lady and Trish made their way over as the two stood face to face, the tension almost visible.

"How's it been, bro?" Dante aggravatingly smiled.

"Just fine, Dante." Vergil coolly replied. "Miss me?"

"Not a damn bit."

"The feeling's mutual, then."

"Expect anything else?"

They just stared each other down after that.

"Well look at this heartwarming family reunion." Trish butted in.

"Hey," Dante said to her and Lady. "This all the fun I've been missing?"

"If you want to call it that, yeah." Lady said. The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Well, Verg," He looked back over to his brother. "Now that I'm back, looks like this little situation will finally get taken care of, eh?"

"What makes you think I came back to fix _your _mess?"

"I don't, but you're gonna wind up doing it anyways because I know you like a _real_ grand finale. Ain't that right, bro?"

"Why make it anything else?" He smiled.

"Guess that means I'll be making it three losses in a row for you, eh?"

"Guess whatever you'd like, brother, but we'll see what's what when the dust settles."

"Oh yeah, we will."

With that, Vergil turned and left.

"I thought he'd never leave." Lady groaned.

"So, you guys glad to see me?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Trish said. "It's been hell around here. You worried about the cops at all?"

"Nah, they got their hands full as it is. I just need a place to stay."

"You're staying with us, dip shit." Lady blurted.

"Well, if you insist." Dante replied with a smirk. "But first, I think I'm gonna go talk to Chance."

"Good luck. I already went down that road. Son of a bitch won't budge." Lady said.

"Let me worry about that. You guys go back home and get some rest. We'll catch up when I get back."

Dante made his way up the staircase to Chance's office. It had been years since he'd even set foot in his club, but not much had changed. He made his way to the office door, where Chance's bodyguard cut him off.

"Hold up, punk, you need-"

Dante launched him into the wall with a one armed shove, then opened the door.

Chance and a few of his associates were talking when he looked up to see the hybrid warrior.

"Hi Dante." He drew on his smoke. "Fancy you coming to visit me. Little dangerous for you around here, isn't it?"

"Little dangerous for me anywhere, Chance."

"Just like old times, eh?" Chance smiled and winked at him. "Gentlemen, take a walk." His associates got up and left without question.

"So, a full blown war with the cops. Bit much, no?" Dante sat down, propping his feet up on desk.

"Now don't make me out to be the bad guy. This is their war."

"I'm sure you had _nothing_ to do with it."

"I don't consider myself to have. They're the ones who started this whole thing when they killed Kifer, so they must have figured they could handle it. Then again, nobody expected you to up and leave because you killed, what was it, ten of those assholes?"

"Didn't think you'd be feeling sympathy for them."

"Trust me, I couldn't give two shits less. I have a distaste for what they did anyway."

"Oh yeah, that's right. You're more the white collar criminal, well, at least you used to be. But now you're just like every other high-end drug lord, bootlegger, gun running sack of shit that I just tend to look at and laugh."

"Please, Dante, some credit here." Smoke seethed through his mouth and nose. "Don't lump me in with the average Scarface."

"I'm not here to give you credit. I'm here to find out what you know."

"And what in the fuck makes you think I'll tell you anything?"

"Because you know damn well you're time's running out."

"Really?"

"Really. It doesn't matter how many cops you kill, sooner or later the demons' numbers are gonna catch up to you. And whether or not I decide to do anything to help you when that time comes depends on how cooperative you are now. So," He leaned forward on the desk. "Anything you wanna tell me, Chance?"

"See, I'd rather you find out on your own, ya know, so the experience is that much more rewarding for you." He exhaled his smoke. "And as far as the demons go, well that's your problem at this point. I'm dealing with the crooked-ass cops. If you finally want to own up to your responsibilities, there's the fuckin door."

Dante stopped for a split second. "_Crooked-ass cops?" _He thought to himself, thinking on what Chance could have meant by that.

"Don't worry, _I'll_ take care of the demons." He grinned. "That way you can get back to playing cops and retards."

"Well, you'd better get to it." He said as Dante turned to walk away. "Oh, and by the way, Dante," He started. "Amethyst was just a puppet in a much larger play. This goes way deeper than you think."

Dante laughed and turned. "It always does, Chance. That's what makes it fun!"

The hybrid made it back up onto the rooftops and began moving towards Trish's. He hadn't even bothered telling Chance to stop feuding with the cops given he knew the answer. But he wasn't worried about that. Right now, he only had one thing on his mind.

* * *

"Sir, we-"

"Oh, don't bother, sergeant. I already saw your bad report on the news." The chief groaned.

"We were highly outnumbered, sir. The demons came down on us, and-"

"You know my father always told me excuses are like assholes - everybody's got one and they all stink."

"Well, all due respect sir, I think the stench of blood overpowers the stench of my excuses."

"And what exactly is your point, sergeant?"

"Let's just say I'm tired of calling the wives of a dozen officers every week this chaos continues."

The captain got up from his seat.

"And quite frankly," The sergeant continued. "I'm tired of continuing this little game that's going on. I find it pretty disturbing they're waiting to-"

"Let me tell _you_ something you little piss ant fuck," The captain snapped. "You've been in this since the start, so you're in it til the end. You try to back out of this, or go to the press, you'll regret the day you ever enrolled in the police academy. Understand?" He was inches from his face.

"... Yes, sir."

"Sir!" Another officer came bursting through the door.

"What is it, Allen?"

"Some of the officers that survived said they saw Dante in the battle today."

"You idiot, we've already established that's his brother, and we can't do shit about him."

"No, they said they saw him _and_ Dante together."

"... Well no shit."

"You want me to get a squad together?" The sergeant asked.

"... No. Let him stay loose for awhile, kill off the demons for us. Then we can take his ass when he's worn down from it." He sat back down. "You're both dismissed. Allen, take that on the file cabinet package to evidence."

"Yes sir."

The captain lit up a cigarette and went back to watching the news. He knew eventually the bloodshed wouldn't be tolerated. At this point, he had to hope they could hold out long enough.

* * *

"Gah, where the hell is he?" Lady snapped as she tied the cloth around the wound on her ankle.

"You know he was meeting with Chance. You should relax when you have the chance to, Lady." Trish replied.

"Well how do we know that's where he is now? He could've gotten into it with the cops!"

"I think we'd know about it if he did."

Lady didn't reply, instead kicking off her other boot and holding up the damaged one.

"Gonna have to fucking replace these now." She groaned as she peered through the hole in the leather.

She was cut off by Dante's entrance.

"What's all this holler about?" He smiled.

"Finally." Lady snapped.

"Didn't know I was keeping anyone." He took off his coat and set down his weapons. "Where's my brother?"

"Who knows and who cares. I prefer him being around as little as possible." Trish said.

"Trish, you think you could give us a minute?" Lady abruptly asked the demoness.

Trish knew Lady had to talk to Dante, and she was far too exhausted to give any objection. She simply left her apartment and went for a drive.

"So, how was your little vacation?" She snapped again.

"Oh, it was just great. Palm trees, drinks, the ocean… then I woke up and hid from the law and killed demons for seven months."

"Shut up, Dante."

"What, you're making it sound like I've been living it up this whole time."

She didn't respond.

"Look, I'm sorry you guys had to deal with this on your own, but I'm gonna-"

"I don't need your fucking help."

"What the hell is your problem?" Dante was genuinely angry. He had looked forward to being with her once he'd gotten back, and now she was being cold with him. "I come back and you're acting like a complete bitch to me again."

"You wanna know why?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Because I thought about you everyday… I missed you, wanted you everyday."

"And I never gave you two thoughts?"

"Did you?" She stared into his eyes.

"I thought about you all the time."

"Yeah, right. Right after you got done with some random whore you just met."

She turned away, but was violently pulled back in by the wrist.

"You think that's what I did?" His voice nearly trembled with rage. "You think I'd betray you like that?"

"Seven months, Dante!"

"Everyday of which I was going crazy thinking about you!" Dante couldn't control the increase in the volume of his voice. He'd never had an emotional argument like this before. He'd never tried to convince someone of something he desperately needed them to know. This feeling inside him just wanted her to know the truth. It was strong, and it must've been because Lady had stopped her shouting at Dante's words. She sensed his sincerity. Her feelings of him were the same as his of hers.

Nearly eight months without each other had driven them batty. Dante's dreams had returned shortly after his departure. He always thought about being with her upon his return. Having her lips, her skin, her touch, all of it was like an intoxicating drug that he was going through withdrawal over. He never even so much as feigned interest in another woman. Not because he felt obligated to stay faithful to Lady, but because he was interested in no woman other than Lady, and Lady would hardly so much as even look at another man for the same reason. She had tossed and turned countless sleepless nights, wanting him to be there next to her, to be in his arms. Their mutual want for each other had made them both nearly go nuts, and it was culminating in this.

"Well you know what Dante?" She started after the brief silence. "You can say whatever you want, and it doesn't mean shit to me." Though she was lying, it was just a part of her stubbornness that she felt necessary to put him through. She turned away again, but rather than saying anything else, he decided to show her how much he'd missed her. He grabbed her by the shoulder, twisted her around, and pushed her up against the wall.

"Then allow my actions to speak louder than words." He growled.

He took her face in his hands and forced his tongue down her throat, lips engulfing hers as he pulled her closer into his grasp. He took in her taste, swallowing her lips and tongue, his hands caressing her firm body under her blouse. She pushed his jacket off of his shoulders and ran her hands under his shirt, taking in his firm frame. He lifted her leg onto his hip and began running his hand over it. Her smooth skin was almost intoxicating to touch, his hands groping her creamy thighs. She gripped the back of his shirt for support while their tongues caressed each other, their eyes locked whenever they broke the passionate kiss. They both paused for a brief moment to look deeper into each other. Both were already breathing heavily, sweat formed on their brows. Dante pushed her damp bangs off of her forehead, gently stroking her cheek after. Lady kissed his lips softly, playfully tugging on his lower lip. He let her leg down and snaked his hand down to her womanhood, where he began groping her beneath the soft fabric of her panties, his middle finger tracing up and down over her clit. The huntress bucked her hips forward, tensing her legs while trying to absorb all of his touch. She breathed through tightly clenched teeth while his large hand continued to massage her, its largest appendage going lower and lower as he squeezed. His fingers became wet as they neared her opening, this quenching of her thirst long over due, and manifesting in what they were feeling now. To both of them, this was already hotter and more passionate than the first time. Almost two thirds of a year deprived of each other, of continuous dreams, of truly wanting nobody other than each other, had finally built up to this. She let out a soft high whimper than tickled Dante's senses, mini shockwaves coursing through his entire body at her sweet sound. He grinned at her facial expression; eyes near-closed, lips parted. His free hand went up and down her juicy thigh, groping her plump firm ass as she let out pleased breaths. She turned her attention to the button and zipper of his pants. It was hard for her to focus amidst the wonders he was ding to her below, but she was able to undo them nonetheless. He let her struggle with his belt, continuing to work her while she attempted to focus on what she was doing.

"Uh-h!" She gasped sharply as he pushed his finger inside of her, trying her best to focus on loosening the buckle.

He smiled mischievously while he probed her, adding another finger to his already lubricated one. Her wetness was increasing, saturating his hand with her sweet sticky essence, her womanhood swelling in his strong, groping palm. Her eyes rolled back as blood rushed to her head, making her nearly pass out with excitement and pleasure. Once she regained focus, she went back to Dante's buckle. She lifted her head to kiss his neck, licking his flesh while he continued to rub her. Once she finally undid his belt, he forced his fingers deeper while pushing his free hand under her blouse and bra to squeeze her firm breast, once again putting her nearly out of consciousness.

"Ughnn, Damn it Dante- Ah-hh!

He pushed his digits further up into her, groping her aggressively as she moaned into his chest. She had to make herself focus on what she was doing despite him, and reached into his boxers to pull out his erect shaft. He pushed his fingers in more, forcing a loud moan from her right before she began to squeeze him.

"Ughh," He growled as she began to stroke and twist his massive piece of flesh, his stomach now going in and out rapidly. His own focus began to diminish as he freed Lady from his grasp. It didn't help matters when she flicked her tongue over the tip of his member. He shuttered under her touch, her thumb and forefinger pinching his tip while her hand worked him. He moaned as he gripped the back of her hair, pulling her into him.

As he let her work, thoughts started to race through his head of where they were now from where they were before. Meeting each other in the Temin Ni Gru. Where they each were back then. He was still just a big kid back then; wild and immature, focused solely on money and crazy ways to make it. And her, still just a teenager, yet having been through more than most go through in a lifetime. Still, the fire that burned inside of her was intent on taking down every last demon that came her way, and that was all she needed. But now, they both had a new need. No longer would would the hunt or the profit that came with it suffice. They'd worked together, hunted demons together, and blew off steam together for the last few years, and though they hadn't realized it then, it was all culminating to where they were now.

She proceeded to take him in her mouth fully, deep throating him as she continued to crank. He gasped sharply as her lips engulfed him, taking him in and out, her tongue melting his senses. The hybrid let the huntress work, stroking her hair, caressing her cheek when she looked up to him. She pushed his pants down a little further and he lifted his shirt, granting her more access. She licked circles around his swollen tip, hand working his rigid erection.

"Damn, babe," He said through sharp breaths. "This- oh, yeah, like that." He smiled.

She continued in the manner that seemed to please him the most, twisting and working him up and down. He let out a shaky breath as she started to squeeze him hard before returning him to her mouth, taking him in and out while he grabbed another tight handful of her hair, her lips and tongue making him weak in the knees. He looked down to her while she worked, remembering what he had been missing for so long. He wanted to shoot himself in the head for being away almost eight months. His erection grew completely stiff and rigid; that mixture of pleasure and pain Lady applied that he loved intensifying with each passing second. It felt so good he didn't want it to end. Her lips continued to run up and down his massive piece of flesh, his veins now pulsating as she squeezed and sucked him into dizziness. His eyebrows clicked together when she started to hit the sweet spot. He took in a very sharp, shaky breath. He felt the smile form on her face as he placed his hand on her shoulder for balance. She started to take him in and out rapidly, stroking him at the same pace while his hips bucked forward in response. The hybrid involuntarily went up on his tiptoes, his whole body tensing under her magic.

"Jesus, Lady…" He shakily breathed. "… Please don't stop… keep going…"

She took him in both hands and stroked him rapidly while sucking his swollen tip as if it were a giant strawberry. She was forcing consistent moans from him as she continued to work him harder and faster. She sensed he was close to climax when he went up on his tiptoes, so she took him into her mouth once again, taking him in as deep as she could. His legs almost went numb as he felt himself about to cum. His hips seemed to thrust into her by impulse, heightening his sensation.

"Shit."

He backed out from her and began stroking himself rapidly. Desperately grabbing for something, he ripped the case off one of the pillows and put it to his shaft right as his orgasm hit. He let out a long moan as he released into the piece of fabric, Lady smiling behind him.

"Holy shit…" He said through heavy breaths. "That was fucking incredible."

She smiled mischievously, and grabbed his ass with both hands, squeezing him hard. "Gonna' tell me how much you missed me, now?" He turned to face her. She looked so hot as she moved closer, her eyes piercing his.

"No… I'm gonna' show you." He grinned, and threw her across the bed horizontally. He descended onto her to swallow her up in a hot, sopping wet kiss, his mouth rough but his touch gentle. She pulled his shirt off over his head and took his face in her hands, reaching up to resume her kiss. Her hands ran wildly over his toned back and arms, while his went up and down her smooth, toned and creamy legs, groping her soft, muscular flesh. He then moved her hands up her back, caressing her skin before ripping her bra apart from behind, releasing her big, firm breasts, her blouse not doing much to cover her up as he ripped most of the buttons open. He groped her mounds under the flimsy fabric, squeezing them and twisting her erect nipples. She let out a pleased breathe as she gripped the back of his hair, forcing him down to kiss her abdomen. He sucked and licked her flesh, sweat starting to glisten off of their flesh as they rubbed against each other. Their body heat increased with each second, both drunk with pleasure. Dante smoothly slid her panties off her legs, then looked up into her eyes.

"Get comfortable, babe. I'll be down here for awhile." He smirked, then put his head underneath her skirt. Lady lifted her legs upon his shoulders, and put a pillow behind her head on the backboard. Her body tensed in anticipation waiting for him to start. It felt like he was down there for an eternity to her, but then, without warning, he began licking her sex in a smooth, slender motion. She took in a very sharp breath, moaning out as he continued his treatment. He let her thrash above him and whimper for awhile, licking her opening as he caressed her thighs, his hands occasionally moving to grope her firm ass. Then, he began licking and sucking on her clyt, forcing her to buck her hips into his face, her moans now amplified into screams. After a few moments of this, he stopped for a second, then began flicking his tongue from side to side rapidly over her clyt.

"AHHH, AHHHH, AHHHH, DANTE STOP, I'M GONNA CUM, DANTE, AHHHH!" She flailed like a fish out of water.

However, he obeyed, stopping again before she climaxed, his hands returning to her firm hills, pulling on her rock hard nipples ash she panted heavily. He started to lick her again, running his teeth over her clyt every other lick, keeping her stimulated. He then forced his tongue inside her walls, forcing louder moans and tensing from his lover. He tasted her insides for a while longer, teasing her, knowing she wanted him to go deeper. And eventually, his long, slithering tongue found it's way down to her G-Spot. Her thrashing once again intensified and her screams returned as he applied serious treatment to her sweetest spot, licking and flicking his demonic tongue over it again and again. He sucked her sweetness as she grabbed his hair and forced her into him, her stomach going in and out. He withdrew from her tight warmth, and stopped again, letting her figure out what was coming. He resumed flicking his tongue over her clyt again, and she lost control. Like before, she yelled and begged him to stop; it was almost too much pleasure for her to endure. He wouldn't this time, though. He kept going, and she kept screaming. She rose up on the bed, reaching behind for the headrest for support while she held him into her, her eyebrows arched upwards while she looked down on him. She did whatever she could to control herself, but it was to no avail being that she was no longer in control of her body. Her orgasm didn't take long to surface with Dante's menacing tongue doing it's magic, as moments later, her orgasm released all over Dante's lips before he dove into her to sop up all of her sticky sweet essence, almost deafened by her screams above. Her body convulsed as her orgasm went on, Dante holding her in place by her hips.

"Dante..." She exhaled, trying to calm down as the orgasm exited her fully. "What the hell did you just do to me?"

He smiled and unbuttoned her skirt, tossing it aside before snaking his way back up to face Lady.

"Nothing compared to what I'm about to do." He smirked, and ripped open her blouse. His hands shot for her mounds, groping and pushing them together, rubbing her nipples. She pulled his head down in between them, letting him kiss an suck her hills, sending electricity through them both. Their bodies slid up and down on one another, the heat making them covered with sweat. She reached down to stroke him again, re-stiffening his massive manhood. He moaned lightly, freeing his hands to push his pants the rest of the way off. Both now completely bare, Dante stood up at the foot of the bed, and spread Lady's legs open.

"Ready?" He asked. She nodded, looking at his member as he moved into position.

Dante slowly pushed himself into her tight warmth, gasping with pleasure as it squeezed him. She moaned loudly once he gained full entrance, both stopping to take it all in. He started pumping into her gradually, holding up her legs as he moved his hips into her. Her moaning was synchronized with his strokes. She looked up into his eyes, watching them stare at her all over. They eventually caught each others gaze, as Dante smiled while pushing himself harder. Her pleased breaths gave him goosebumps. He continued to hump her at a steady pace, holding her legs open as he stared down into her eyes. He loved to see them filled with so much satisfaction, so much bliss. In the past, the only time she could even force a smile was when she killed something or opened a briefcase full of money. Now, he was what made her happy, and he loved it. He backed up slightly and lifted up her leg so her foot faced the ceiling. Lady didn't know what he had in mind, but was sure glad she was flexible when he pushed her extended leg all the way back to her head with his shoulder as he pushed himself into her further, the rest of his body slightly elevated above hers, holding her in this position. His shit-eat grin returned for a second before he began literally slamming into her, gritting his teeth. His thigh slapped off of her ass as he humped her rapidly, deafening obscenities coming from her mouth as he held onto his arms to lift herself a bit.

"Just relax, babe." He paused so she stopped tensing. She obeyed, her chest heaving. They were both covered in sweat, heat radiating from their bodies. Without warning, he started up again, thrusting his hips forward while keeping his balance with his free hand. Her loud moans continued as he didn't let up, crushing her walls, hitting her sweet spot with every stroke. He could feel her fluids begin to lubricate his shaft, and he stopped shortly after, not wanting to end this so soon for her.

"Ohh, fuck, Dante." She moaned as they both laid there, temporarily recovering. Dante wasn't breathing too heavily, his stamina keeping up with him, though he was somewhat winded. He withdrew from her and flipped her over to her stomach. She laid there flat as he started to massage her shoulders and neck, squeezing her aching muscles. She took in sharp breaths as he worked, letting his strong hands do wonders. However, she was antsy for him to resume his previous treatment. The huntress got up on all fours and bucked up her ass, indicating to the hybrid that she was ready for more. He smiled, then got up on his knees behind her, and reentered her still wet cavern. He resumed at a steady pace as he gripped her hips, moaning lightly at her tightness. He looked down at her, head on it's side over folded arms, eyes closed, hair a ruffled mess, sweat glistening off her toned back. He leaned forward to squeeze her breasts, still humping her while he groped greedy handfuls. He applied the same greediness to her firm ass, kneading and mounding them together as he went in and out of her, steady moans seething through her smile. She got off on how crazy he was about her body. He kept going for a brief moment until he rested his legs on her thighs, breaking her down flat on the bed. She gripped the pillow tight to her chest as he gained deeper entrance with this new position, heightening her sensation. Her anticipation was mounting as he had paused, taking another opportunity to feel all over her body. His greedy hands were getting her so hot, groping and squeezing her large firm breasts, pulling on her nipples. She twisted around and reached her arm around the back of his neck, his free hand pulling her in closer for another hot kiss while his other hand continued to squeeze her mound. She broke way from the kiss as he posted his arms on the mattress outside hers, getting himself ready. Lady bucked her ass and gasped as he gained full entrance., and a smirk on his face. She gripped the sheets tight as he began thrusting his hips into her as fast as he could, crushing her G spot with each and every new thrust, making her scream and moan at the top of her lungs.

"OH, GOD, OH YEAH, YEAH DANTE OH MY GOD!"

"Uh-huh," He boastfully groaned through gritted teeth. She gasped loudly as he crushed her walls, stimulating her entire body. She was drowning in pleasure as he pushed into her harder and harder, faster and faster.

"Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh," Her moans bounced as he moved inside her, her orgasm nearing. Cum began dripping down onto her sheets as it was building up, an explosion of ecstasy ready to hit her at any second. Dante then went to his physical limits, doing to her what he had never done to a female before, as he slammed into her as hard and as fast as he could, forcing out deafening moans that made the hair on his neck stand up, and a tidal wave of sweet cum explode from Lady all over them. Dante continued to thrust as he neared climax, the new lubricant on his shaft getting him hotter with each new movement. He finally released into her, a demonic groan escaping his lips. He collapsed on her back thereafter. The sweat dripped from his nose onto her back, his breathing heavy as he remained inside the warmth of his lover. He breathed heavily upon her neck, his heat caressing her already burning skin. They were soaked in sweat, Dante sliding up and down on her.

Dante lifted his head with a grin and opened his eyes. His heart jumped at what he saw standing in the doorway – Vergil. No expression, no body language, just standing there, staring. Lady was still gathering herself, and was far too exhausted to even lift her head to see he was there. Dante stared right back into his brother's cold, emotionless eyes. He breathed heavily on top of his lover while his brother continued his glare. Dante then smiled and slowly licked Lady's flesh, eyes not leaving Vergil's all the while. Dante glared at him with that evil smirk, not even caring why he was there. The elder twin then turned and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Dante then looked down to Lady, who was finally coming around. As she turned her head to face him, he peered into her satisfied orbs.

"Am I off the hook now?" He smiled.

She pulled him down by his hair for another kiss.

A thousand thoughts raced through Dante's mind despite his physical comfort. Lady, Vergil, being back, the war, Chance, the bigger picture… It almost made him dizzy. His exhaustion quickly took over though, as he fell asleep atop his lover. He would need the rest.

**Alright, I know on my profile almost two months ago I said it would be up in a day, but that was two and a half hours before I realized I had about seven assignments and exams due for finals in a week. Unfortunately fourteen page papers don't write themselves, nor do these fucking stories. On top of that, I was getting into a new job (Is actually my second time working there for those who've followed me for awhile) am still currently inquiring about my internship since I'm a year from graduating, and now since the mahfucka that did it last year isn't this year, I have to be team contact, captain, and coach of my alumni team... and i've been all fucked up for most of it... ok all of it. I'm not even gonna set a time table on when the next anything will be up cause I'll probably just be lying.**

**"What's your fuckin plan? Eat ketchup packs?"**

**"We shoulda stopped at Roy Rogers!"**

**"And I shoulda fucked Dale Evans, but I didn't!"**

**PEACE!**


	10. Chapter 10

**_"You mark that frame an eight, you're entering a world of pain."_**

**_Beneath The Shadows  
_**

_**Chapter 10**_

The hybrid had just gotten back in from his rounds. Vergil, Lady and Trish were all out doing the same, making sure there weren't large hordes of demons in the city. He had to be particularly careful though, making sure the cops weren't on him. However, it was merely to not attract attention. There wasn't worry about being captured. He figured that whatever tranquilizer the trappers had used to knock him out before had run out of stock in the city. When he disposed of the trappers, he was suspicious that the cops somehow had a supply of their own, and that if he tried to take them on, he'd likely get stuck with a needle. Unbeknownst to him, he was correct in his assumption. He made the right move by escaping the night of the killings. Had he tried to fight them all off that night, he most likely would have been captured.

But now he could take them on without having to worry about being captured. The police numbers were split, and, affirming Dante's other assumption, no longer in possession of the tranquilizer. They had lost their connection when Dante killed the trappers, and didn't bother to go to their direct source, which they knew were the ones paying them. The chief had decided it best not to get further involved. Still, he wouldn't seek them out directly.

He then started to wonder where something so powerful could have come from, and how it could have been created. He wondered why there was no reaction by those the trappers were selling the demons to, or what they could have been doing with them. It was enough to make his head spin. He had always stuck by the "Shoot first, ask questions later" method, but this situation called for some critical thinking, which he absolutely despised. Despite this, he knew in time everything would be revealed. It always did.

He placed his weapons upon the counter and went to the fridge for a beer. As he started to enjoy his beverage, he felt a chill come through, the room, and it wasn't from the open appliance. It was something else he was far too familiar with. He simply closed his eyes and smiled.

"Get anything out there?" He asked before taking another swig.

"Nothing since yesterday." His brother replied. "It seems as though they only attack at the same time."

"Well, you'd know, wouldn't you?" Dante turned to face his twin. "I mean hell, you had a whole tower full of them at your disposal years ago."

Vergil laughed.

"Unlike you, I embrace the demon blood that flows through my veins. The blood of our father. It was easy for me to control them."

"What's stopping you now?" He took another swig from his beer.

"I've no interest in world domination this time, or obtaining any further power for that matter. I came back for one reason."

"I'm sure you did, and we'll be getting to that in time." He smiled.

"That we will. And believe me, the outcome won't favor you so much this time."

"Third time's a charm, eh?" He finished his beer.

"You're arrogance is rather amusing."

"Ha. My arrogance? What are you, the shining example of humility all of a sudden?"

"Actually, my defeats at your hands have made me realize my faults."

"Well I'll be Goddamned. Now you're admitting your faults."

"Recognizing them. I've learned to hone my own powers instead of seeking it from other sources. You've no idea what I was doing while I was in hell."

"That's because I didn't give a shit."

Vergil smiled. "Just know, I have everything I need to defeat you."

"We'll see." Dante confidently boasted.

He brother turned to go upstairs. "Oh, and did you enjoy the free show last night?" His twin stopped.

"Somewhat contradictory you've become, brother. You'll kill certain humans for revenge, then treat another so affectionately, so passionately." He stared down at his brother. "I'm interested in seeing how you progress further. Maybe you'll embrace our father's heritage after all…" He continued up the stairs.

* * *

"So, I hear dip shit's back in town." Jose murmured at the end of the bar.

"Now are we sure that's him and not his fuckin' asshole brother?" Johnny asked.

"Nah, it's him." Eddy replied as he poured a customer a shot. "Cop was in here yesterday rantin' and ravin' about it."

"They goin' after him?" Another asked.

"I mean, I don't know what the fuck they think they're gonna do if they try. Like they're gonna just walk up and slap the cuffs on him."

"They kinda got close before."

"Well, according to my source…"

"Here he goes with his fuckin' sources again."

"It was a perfect storm of events, and it still didn't work. I think they'll lay off for awhile."

"Hell, they can't even hold shit down with these demons and gangsters." Eddy said.

"Speaking of which, are we any farther along in getting rid of all those demon fucks?"

"Nope. Matter of fact we're farther behind according to the news." Eddy replied.

"Great."

"I honestly don't even give a shit."

"You'll give a shit when a few of 'em come bustin' through your door."

"Jose, demons target heavily populated urban areas. This is the fuckin boondocks. There isn't even a gas station for twenty miles. They don't just go wandering off into the woods. And even if they did," He pulled out his shotgun. "I got shit covered."

"Wow, one man with a shotgun. Hope there's no more than two."

"Fuck you."

* * *

Chance's mole quickly searched throughout the evidence room, looking frantically for anything related to the Trappers. He had already been extremely useful in the short time he'd been inside. It was a huge return on investment in that it took minimal effort to get him in; simple identity theft of an incoming officer transferred from another station since there were plenty due to the rising conflict, followed by his murder, a few photo ID changes by professionals Chance knew, and his mole was in.

The mole found out who was buying the demons from the Trappers, and that while the cops were in league with the Trappers, they weren't in league with the buyers. Chance, his few top men, the police chief and his top sergeant were the only ones who knew.

And while Chance did not yet want to expose the buyers, he could get evidence linking the cops to the Trappers and thus could either hold it over their heads or land them a crippling blow. Chance figured it best to play the bluff rather than get the FBI involved. While the feds would have made the cops' lives miserable, so too would they Chance's. And amidst the demons, the cops, the buyers, and Dante, Chance decided it best not to incorporate another group of assholes with guns. Controlling the cops with the mere fear of federal involvement would serve his purpose much better.

However, he had to first obtain the evidence, and make sure the cops didn't know that he knew who the buyers were. If they found out, the cops would focus all of their efforts in taking down Chance because once Chance would give up the buyers, the buyers would give up the police because they knew the police had protected the Trappers.

Chance was close. His mole was about to get the evidence he needed. But unfortunately, eyes were on.

"Smith!" The police chief startled the mole. "What are you doing in the evidence room without my authorization?"

"Sorry chief, I was just getting… um…"

"Um? I don't think we keep any of that in here, Smith. Must be something else you're looking for."

"It's just some drug evidence for another case."

"We haven't made any major drug busts since you've been here." The chief stepped towards the mole, who was now silent. A few other officers including the chief's top sergeant made their way into the room.

"Ya' know, Smith…" The chief started. "We were taking a look at your profile from the station back in Newark… gotta' say, your profile photo and prints look awfully different."

One of the officers handed him a manila folder that he then threw down at the mole's feet.

"I mean, this yours, isn't it?"

The mole looked down, then was greeted with a nightstick over his head by one of the officers. Two more picked him up off the ground and dragged him out of the evidence room and towards the interrogation room.

"You think we're stupid, huh?" The police chief blurted. "Well don't worry, we'll gain plenty of knowledge from you."

On the way, they had passed three windows in view of the bridge. As the mole was in front of the fourth, the glass shattered and he collapsed.

"What the fuck?!" The sergeant said.

"Anyone shot?" The chief asked.

"No, just him!" One of the officers pointed to the mole, who was lying there motionless in a pool of blood.

The chief looked out the window to see the glimmer of light shine off the scope.

"That son of a bitch!"

In an attempt to make sure his mole didn't spill the beans, Chance instructed his marksman to get a vantage point on the police station. He knew when his mole was supposed to infiltrate the evidence room, and figured that it could go south. Chance was all about covering the angles.

"There goes any information." One of the officers groaned.

"I say we just kill this Chance asshole now." Another added.

"Sure, go right on and take down his 100+ soldiers, idiot."

"Well what the fuck? This is bullshit."

"What's bullshit?" The chief snapped.

"Getting our asses kicked by everyone; the demons, Chance, and now Dante. Shit, we should at least kill him and finish what we started."

"Well, that would be much more feasible if you all didn't waste every last drop of tranquilizer we had on the demons." The sergeant said.

"You talk as if it's squirrel hunting. How about you get the fuck out there and start shootin', instead of sitting in here all day with the chief."

"He, as well as the rest of you pricks will do what the fuck I tell you to!" The chief raised his voice. The last thing he needed was a corps of mutinous officers. "Now all of you get the hell out there. Find that son of a bitch sniper and watch for any demons. They haven't attacked in a few days, which indicates a giant shit storm on the horizon. Sergeant, make sure dispatch has S.W.A.T. on standby."

"Yes chief. The rest of you men, fall out."

The officers slowly walked away.

"You'd better get this disdain shit under control." The chief pointed at his sergeant and exited the room.

* * *

A tired Lady made her way up the stairs of her apartment building. She hadn't seen any demons for the day, and started to wonder what was keeping them. She figured the next day would be much more active.

Making her way into her apartment, she noticed that Trish and Vergil were gone. She went into the living room to find Dante sleeping on the couch. She sighed and shook her head.

"Get up, lazy."

The hybrid cursed and shifted around.

"Dante,"

"Gah, what, I'm trying to sleep."

"When aren't you?" She smiled. "Where's Trish?"

"She's still not back?"

"Would I be asking you if she was?"

"Is Vergil still here?"

"I don't think so."

"… Probably still looking for some demons. I know I barely found shit."

"Hope it doesn't mean anything."

"Like what?" Dante sat up.

"I don't know. Coordinated attack, maybe?"

"Maybe. I don't think demons are that smart."

"If there's more powerful ones coming through like you said…"

"Could be." He looked up at her. "Come here." He smiled.

She returned the smile and sat down, cuddling up next to him. He put his arm her and pulled her in close, letting her head rest on his chest.

"When do you think it'll be over?" She asked softly.

"Hell, I thought we determined it never would." He repeatedly stroked her hair. "But we'll get through it."

"Are you worried about your brother?"

"No, and you shouldn't be either." He looked down into her eyes. "I won't let anything happen to you, Lady."

In the past, Lady would have immediately slapped Dante in the face and blurted, "I don't need your damn help!" However, she knew this was something he meant. It was a true promise. She could see it in his eyes. He'd lost too many that he'd cared for in his mother and Patty, and he wasn't about to lose Lady..

She reached up to pull him down for a soft kiss.

"I know."

The two fell asleep in each others arms.

* * *

"Biker got found out." Ricky told Chance the bad news about his mole.

"Well, it was gonna' happen eventually." He put out his cigarette. "I trust it was taken care of..."

"Tony got him. Good thinking putting him out there."

"I knew Biker'd get caught."

"Why'd you send him in then?"

"Because he had worn out his usefulness save for that. Aside from the buyers' identity and some attack strategies he didn't get us much. Had to give him a shot."

"You still want to try to get that evidence?"

"Yes. Without it we have nothing on the cops."

"What is the evidence anyway?"

"Amethyst recorded every phone call he made to the cops when they were protecting them. Used it as leverage so the cops wouldn't fuck him over. Biker told me the cops scooped his recorder and recording equipment and stuffed it in the evidence room. We get that recorder, they're ours."

"What about the buyers?"

"… We'll manipulate that information to our advantage. I have a feeling it'll be revealed sooner rather than later anyways."

"Right. Anything else you need me to do?"

"Actually, there is something…"

* * *

**Alright, this chapter was kind of an explanative/suspense building preliminary chapter to the craziness I have coming. I will tell you that the next few chapters will bring back the action and will get extremely involved. Will probably be a bit longer than this. I would have had this up earlier, but between 18 credits this semester, 25 hours a week at the shit hole, 3 other fucking alumni football games I got convinced into playing in, and getting my next and last semester of college set up, I don't have time for shit. I just thank God the election's over. Sick of all these fucking idiots who think they're political scientists blabbering on and on as if I or anyone else gives a shit about their political stance. But I digress. Hope you enjoyed this, and stay tuned!**

**_"You haven't seen the boys around have you? We have a couple questions for them."_**

**_"I got a question for you, Randy! You know'm sayin', Free Willy. Does cheeseburgers ever blow out yer blow hole, you know'm sayin'? Peace!"_**

**PEACE!**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Beneath The Shadows**_

_**Chapter 11**_

The restaurant was practically empty. Not too many people went out anymore. Morrison sat at the bar, waiting for his arrival. The phone call didn't particularly shock him; he figured his discontent would eventually get the better of him, though he did wonder why now.

Regardless, he hoped some sort of resolution might come of it. A rogue cop was apparently in the equation as well. A pragmatist, Morrison felt that if the three sides could come to an accord, the demons could be disposed of. That's the only reason he even agreed to this meeting in the first place. Still, something felt eerie.

He knew it was him when he sat down next to him. That particular stench of smoke exclusive to Ricky himself was too strong to not recognize.

"Morrison," He greeted.

"Hi, Rick."

"How've you been?"

"What do you care?" Morrison wouldn't look at him.

Ricky tried to ignore the awkwardness.

"… You want a drink?"

"Just get to the point. What do you have?"

"Chance."

Morrison rolled his eyes.

"Aw, finally figure out that you fucked up?"

"You can say that…"

Morrison looked at him.

"It's like he's planning some fuckin endgame or something. I don't know, man, I just don't like it."

"Took you this long to figure that out?"

"Not until recently. He took out a smoke. "Some of the shit he wants me to do anymore... It's starting to-"

"So really you're just tired of being his bitch."

Ricky sighed.

"To be frank, yes."

"Then say it. Don't stammer around like a fuckin idiot and waste my time."

"Hey, Morrison," Ricky took a sharper tone. "You wanna sit here and piss and moan, I'll leave, and you can help yourself. I joined up with Chance because it was either that or death, so you, and everyone else for that matter, can get the fuck over it."

"Did I say anything about Chance?" Which really translated to, "Someone feels guilty."

Ricky didn't respond. Rather, he couldn't.

"Now what's this brilliant plan you have?"

"To end this shit between Chance and the cops so we can focus our efforts on the demons."

Morrison smirked and shook his head.

"And how the hell do you plan on doing that? Gonna' write 'em up a treaty?"

"I'm going to kill Chance." He almost whispered.

Morrison paused, and took a long draw on his cigarette.

"Well, keep going." He said.

"Can't tell you more here. Who knows where Chance has guys placed at any given time."

"So…"

"Meet me on top of the parking garage overlooking the Alriolto Building in three hours. The cop'll be there, too."

Ricky got up to leave.

"Damn that's it?"

"You told me not to stammer around." Ricky rebuked, and left.

Morrison stayed seated, and ordered a drink.

* * *

The huntress readied her equipment in her room, getting ready for the night watch. Her mind, which used to be mostly blank before going out on missions as to focus, was now filled with thoughts of Dante and Vergil. She didn't want to think of the possible outcome should they face each other. She wasn't there when they fought each other on Mallet, nor was she aware of the implications of the fallout from everything that happened there.  
Her train of thought escaped her when the groan of the wooden stairs split the silence of the apartment. She went out into the hallway, and saw that the elder twin had just entered his room.

She stood there for a moment, wanting to speak with him. There were certain things she needed to tell him about he and Dante, and she wanted to do it sooner rather than later. She just couldn't decide how to approach him.

"How long do you intend on standing there?" He decided for her.

The huntress rebuked by entering the dim room."

"Funny, I can't seem to remember the last time you came to me for a chat."

"That's because it never happened, and it never will again."

"Should make for an interesting conversation."

He turned to face her.

"To what do I owe the honor, miss Lady?"

"Look, I'm –"

"Or should I call you Mary?"

No sooner did his words end than her gun was in her hand.

"Don't call me that."

He grinned.

"Does he bother you that much?"

"Not anymore."

"No?" He turned around. "Your own eyes are a constant reminder of what he did to you… your mother…"

The huntress felt her rage rising.

"Then again, it must be nice to see your father every time you look in the mirror."

"I'd rather stare at a steaming pile of shit for a day straight." She surprised herself with her response; how composed she was.

"I haven't seen my father in a long time." He mockingly compared, ignoring her statement.

"Look, I'm here to tell you one thing." Her tone forced the half devil to turn. "Whatever your plans are with Dante, forget them. You go after him, you're dealing with me."

Vergil broke out in laughter.

"And what makes you think that you would so much as survive for ten seconds if you faced me?" He approached her. "You're nothing but another lowly human."

Lady smirked.

"I think you know that's not true." She glared at him. "And who says I have to face you to defeat you?"

Although Vergil was somewhat stumped from her words, it didn't matter.

"You seem so sure of my intentions."

"That's because I am."

He grinned in response.

"And even if I weren't here to stop you, it wouldn't matter."

"No?" He rebuked, genuinely intrigued.

"No matter how powerful you think you are, you'll never defeat him. He's not you."

"Isn't he?"

"No. Unlike you, he's embraced his humanity."

"So… he was embracing his humanity the night he slaughtered those people?"

"As a matter of fact, he was. I've realized that there are certain demons in this world that I would kill certain humans for any day."

"… Then you finally understand." His words left Lady confused as he approached her. "I can see now why he's so attracted to you."

The distance between the two closed, his presence now making her a bit uneasy.

"More courage than most of the other pathetic humans out there…"

Lady's attraction to Dante made it difficult for her to ignore the elder twin's advances. All of the physical qualities were shared, the same type of presence… she couldn't deny the familiar feelings that were burning in her gut.

And he knew it.

"And I see now what else he sees in you…"

"Back off." She demanded.

"And whatever you see in him, you must see in me."

She looked up into his eyes.

He closed the distance even further. She lowered her gun.

"So, what is it?"

He seductively whispered.

He moved in, his lips nearing hers.

She didn't budge, her eyes slowly starting to close as he drew closer.

"We really aren't so different, he and I…"

He went in, ready to taste her…

However, he instead felt the cold barrel of her gun on his throat.

"You're wrong…" She whispered. "What I see in him, you don't have…" Her lips went to his ear. "… And you never will."

Vergil was almost turned on by her sly cunning. "Such a devilish trick," he thought to himself.

"You're right." He reassured her, walking away after. "Oh, and…" He stopped at the door. "… For the record, I do intend to _face_ him…" He exited with an evil smirk.

A perplexed Lady stood there, trying to analyze what this little encounter meant. But unfortunately, time to idle and think was a luxury she wasn't currently afforded. She left to begin her nightly rounds.

* * *

Dante and Trish walked along the streets, finishing off any surviving demons from their hunt. It was a sad commentary on how life was now. They mundanely walked up and down the road, shooting anything that was still moving. But it was the setting that was truly depressing. Nobody was in sight. The buildings were abandoned and falling apart. It looked more like a ghost town with each passing day. With all the death, it almost was. Anyone with sense got as far away from the city as possible, while those who insisted on staying their ground usually wound up paying the piper.

"How much longer do you think we'll have to do this?" Trish jokingly asked.

"Hell, we've been doing it for how long already." Dante laughed.

"Good point. It just wasn't so damn constant a year ago."

"Tell me about it."

They finished off the rest and headed back to the apartment, the musty air filling their lungs.

"Anything about this all seem strange to you?" She asked.

"Of course." He replied. "But fuck me if I have a clue."

"Well maybe apply some critical thought to it?" She snapped.

"There's about half a dozen different variables in this equation, and I prefer to let them play themselves out."

"That's because you're lazy."

"I save my energy for the important shit."

"Like your brother?"

He paused.

"Yeah. See, that's usually how _that_ plays out."

"What are you gonna' do?"

He looked at her.

"Oh, I'm gonna' call a shrink, schedule a 2:30 for me and Verg, sort everything out for a couple grand so we can have a heartwarming-"

"Dante."

"Well, Christ, what do you think I'm gonna' do? You really don't know?"

Trish stopped.

"… What?" Dante asked.

"You're really that callous about it? About your own blood?"

"What else should I be?" He insisted. "He hasn't changed, Trish."

"I know. But…"

"… But what?"

She hesitated, but ultimately asked.

"What if he isn't-"

He stepped towards her.

"He is."

She realized he didn't even want it discussed, and she abandoned the conversation quickly. It wasn't something she particularly wanted to think about, either.

"I'm gonna stay out for a little while longer." She said.

"Come on, Trish."

"No, Dante, I'll be fine. Just go back and get some rest. I'll be back later."

Dante didn't want to leave her out here alone, but he knew she could take care of herself.

"Be careful."

"I always am." She put on her shades as the moon ascended into the night sky.

She flipped up onto the rooftops, and Dante started back.

However, his thoughts were now riddled with what she said. He could hear it…

* * *

Ricky waited impatiently atop the parking garage, chain smoking as he looked over the ledge. It hadn't even been fifteen minutes. The rain didn't make it any more enjoyable, though.

"Ricky," He heard a voice that was accompanied by a shadowy figure.

Ricky flicked his smoke, recognizing the voice. He had met with the chief's top sergeant, the rogue cop in the equation, earlier. He knew through Biker's undercover work that the sergeant was unhappy with how the PD was running things, and reached out to him specifically.

He then looked to see Morrison's car coming to the top level.

"Well, looks like we're all here for your important meeting." He said as he got out. "So this is the cop?"

"Actually," the man began. "I'm a cop undercover."

"So an undercover cop?" Ricky asked.  
"No." The man laughed. "I've been undercover as a cop."

It was the police chief's top sergeant, or so the chief thought.

"So what are you, from the velvet underground or something?" Morrison asked.

"I'm a fed."

The other two paused.

"You're fuckin FBI?" Morrison blurted.

"Well this is something new." Ricky added, taken by surprise.

"It's a good thing you got ahold of me when you did."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Morrison asked.

The fed pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to Morrison.

"I've been in there for almost a year now. My job was to initially to uncover any unethical practices the department was committing. We had reports of corruption, displacement of evidence, bunch of nickel-and-dime crooked cop shit. But the things I've found out over the last seven months or so…"

"What?" Morrison asked.

"I'd tell you, but it's more believable if you read it."

"What is that?" Ricky asked.

"The 302 for the case."

Morrison began looking it over. It was all there, the answer to everything that had been going on. All in the conversations and interviews. Morrison could hardly believe it.

"You have to look at this."

He handed Ricky the paper after a few minutes.

Ricky began going over it.

"Jesus," He said, somewhat unsurprised.

"Why the hell haven't you people done anything yet?"

"Believe me, we're finalizing the indictments now. These fuckers are going down. All of them."

"That's very good work, agent." Ricky said, putting the 302 in his coat pocket.

"Whoa, what are you doing?"

Ricky's hand resurfaced, but with something other than the 302.

Morrison's heart leaped as Ricky planted one right between the agent's eyes, dropping him where he stood.

"Jesus Christ!" Morrison yelled as Ricky focused the gun on him. "Ricky, what the fuck are you doing?"

"My job." He calmly replied.

"You son of a bitch." It dawned on Morrison that it was a setup.

"Don't take it personally," Ricky began. "Given that you really didn't know anything, I wasn't gonna' kill you… but you just had to read that 302."

"… You knew?"

"Of course." He smiled. "Chance just needed to know what Dante and the cops knew."

"So why don't you just let them come out with it? Sink them all just like Chance wants."

"Well, that's not _exactly_ what he wants…" Morrison gave him a puzzled look. "Morrison, you have no idea how deep this goes." He raised the gun.

"So what do you think?" Morrison glared at him. "He's gonna' be your salvation? You think he's gonna' save you?"

Ricky didn't answer.

"Wake up, Ricky. You're just another means to an end."

"No… you are." He pulled the trigger, dropping Morrison next to fed.

He stood there for a few minutes, seeing if he felt any guilt about what he had done. Nothing came to his senses, though. He just felt empty.

* * *

Trish moved back towards the apartment. She hadn't seen any more demons in her time out. It was still strange, the amount of demons, or lack there of, that had been surfacing. It had only been a week since it had died down, but she felt that it meant the culmination of something else. And just then, her feelings began to become confirmed.

A horde of flyers was just above her, and without letting them know that she aware of it, she continued down the street until there was a better opening above. As soon as she was out of the alley, she sent a blast of lightning up, striking down the demons, and forcing the others to reveal themselves. She was soon surrounded by demons, and had no option other than to continue to attack. She maneuver around them because there were simply too many. Instead, she rotated and pivoted on her, feet, spinning a nova of lightning that was fending them off. However, despite her best efforts, the circle of demons only got tighter. More gliders were above to prevent her from an exit leap.

"Fuck." She thought. "Should have just went back with Dante.

Then, a flash went through half of the demons, cutting them all in half, while the remaining flyers fell to the ground.

She thought to herself, "Speak of the devil." Which was true, but not the devil she thought.

After the rest of the demons had been disposed of, she stood face to face with Vergil.

"Well, I guess I should be glad you finally decided to do your rounds."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Without warning, Yamato was thrust into her abdomen. She couldn't tell what she felt more; the pain, or the shock. Exhausted from the day of hunting, she couldn't even muster an attempt to escape, not that her efforts would have been successful anyway. Vergil moved towards her, pushing the blade in further until he was right in front of her. His hand went to her neck, feeling around for a few moments until he found what he wanted. Trish breathed heavily, her sight starting to dissipate, the pool of blood at her ankles now rather large.

He stared right into her eyes as he ripped it from her neck, showing no remorse or pity. He tucked it away, and withdrew Yamato for a final slash across his victim. She fell to the ground. The elder twin grinned, and moved back down the street.

**Alright alright alriiiiiiiiiight. This chapter turned into more of a mix between my last chapter and the next chapter I have lined up. Not as much action as I probably led on, but there was a bit more suspense I wanted to toss on. Next chapter is going to be the biggest chapter in the story so far, will answer a lot of questions, and, I promise, will bring back the real action. However, it is far from over...**

**"Randy, you better fuckin go on with yer perm coupon, you know'm ****saying, Gut Cassidy and the Sundance Cheeseburger.**


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